Guess where Syria's chemical weapons originate

[Gordon Ray Kissinger]

General sounds alarm on nation gassing rebels, civilians

http://www.wnd.com/2013/03/guess-where-syrias-chemical-weapons-orig...

Retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Paul Vallely says he has confirmation that Syrian forces have used chemical weapons against rebel forces and civilians, and those weapons are likely stockpiles received from Iraq prior to the U.S.-led invasion 10 years ago.

Vallely has met twice in the region with military commanders for the Free Syrian Army, which he describes as the largest and much more moderate faction among the rebels, which also include elements of al-Qaida and the Muslim Brotherhood. He also gets regular reports from a Canadian medical team. Vallely told WND that team is certain that a chlorine gas weapon was used in recent strikes.

“From what I received from the Canadian medical team who works out of Aleppo is that is was chlorine and that what you saw were the reactions on those videos that were put out within the last week,” Vallely said. “The chlorine, the choking, the skin, depending on the density of the chlorine will cause skin irritation. If it’s mixed with other types of gases too, then it could have an even more enhanced effect on the human body, not only breathing but on the skin.”

Vallely believes the chemical weapons are clearly the work of the Assad regime and that the regime will try to pin the blame on the rebels. He said this is not the first time that the beleaguered government has turned WMD on its own people and that he has evidence of a similar attack last summer.

“We had photos and pictures of that which I provided the Defense Department as well as other people in our intelligence organizations,” he said.

But Vallely’s more stunning revelation is that he is virtually certain that Syria is in possession of Saddam Hussein’s old arsenal of weapons of mass destruction and some of those may be on display in this civil war.

“If you go back to January through March of 2003, we had intelligence in the Defense Department that the Russians helped move, by convoy, a lot of the chemical and biological weapons into two locations in Syria and one in the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon,” Vallely said. “We think Russia and Iran have enhanced their inventory. The vast majority of those chemical and biological weapons were from Iraq.”

The general said he is 95 percent sure Iraq’s stockpiles are in Syria, and there is additional evidence of that which never came to light in the previous administration.

“After the takedown of Saddam in 2003, there was a big survey done by U.S. forces all throughout Iraq. Basically, as far as I know, all of the bio and chemical weapons had been moved. They found semblance of a growing nuclear development program, but it was not an aggressive program by any means,” Vallely said. “So the fact is that he had them, used them on his own people. He knew he had to get them out of there, and there was a big cover-up and deception in how he moved them over there. We did know about them, but the Bush administration never came forth and explained to the American people that situation.”

Vallely said the arsenal now in Syria’s possession most likely includes Serrin and VX nerve gas in addition to chlorine, and the likely shelf life of the weapons means they would still be usable. He said the range of a chlorine gas strike depends largely upon how the weapon is delivered.

“It depends on the warhead or whether it’s dispersed in canisters and sprayed on the ground, much like they do with tear gas. So, it can range all the way from a tank hanging off an aircraft, which would be a fairly big load that could cover several miles. By artillery, you’re probably talking about the same thing (as) with rockets and missiles. The close-in stuff, you’re talking 100-200 yards,” Vallely said.

There are also reports of secret arms shipments flowing into the region to help topple the Assad regime. During the investigation of the terrorist attack in Benghazi, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., questioned then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about weapons from the Ghaddafi regime in Libya being smuggled to the Syrian rebels through Turkey. Vallely was less certain about reports of weapons being moved in to help the rebels.

“We have a high degree of confidence that there were gun systems, particularly shoulder-fired missiles. Ghaddafi had a tremendous inventory of weapons – machine guns, rifles, pistols, ammunition,” Vallely said. “I believe, from I have received so far, that there was something there going on and supplying those weapons up to Syria. Where they ended up, I don’t know.”

Despite the use of chemical weapons, Vallely still believes Bashar Assad will fall within months, based on continued defections from the Syrian Army and the dwindling amount of territory still in government control.

http://www.wnd.com/2013/03/guess-where-syrias-chemical-weapons-orig...

_____________________________________________________________

W.M.D.s were in Iraq (moved by the Russians into Syria prior to the invasion)!

[Gordon Ray Kissinger]

Syria chemical weapons: finger pointed at jihadists

• Posted by RJ on March 24, 2013 at 3:38pm

A Syrian Army source gives the first account of what is believed to have been a chemical attack - and it could mean that one of the West's biggest fears is about to come true. Channel 4's Alex Thomson reports.

Whatever happened last week in the town of Khan al-Assal, west of Aleppo, it achieved something extraordinary in the Syrian civil war: unity among Washington, Moscow and Damascus.

All welcomed the rapid decision by Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary-general, to investigate an alleged chemical attack that reportedly killed 26, including Syrian soldiers.

Unusually, the request for that investigation came from the Syrian regime, which claimed that Islamic jihadist rebels launched a chemical weapons attack. Since then, precious little evidence in any way has come from the area despite an awful lot of diplomatic noise around the world.

However a senior source close to the Syrian Army has given Channel 4 News the first clear account of what he claims is believed to have occurred on Tuesday. He is a trusted and hitherto reliable source who does not wish to be identified.

The Syrian military is said to believe that a home-made locally-manufactured rocket was fired, containing a form of chlorine known as CL17, easily available as a swimming pool cleaner. They claim that the warhead contained a quantity of the gas, dissolved in saline solution.

The source said that the town of Khan al-Assal has been in government control since March 13 but - like so much of the area - has been much fought over and parts of the area change hands with relative frequency. Rebel Sunni groups with al-Qaeda sympathies have been attacking the town, where the population is predominantly Shia.

The military's version of events is that the home-made rocket was fired at a military checkpoint situated at the entrance to the town. The immediate effects were to induce vomiting, fainting , suffocation and seizures among those in the immediate area.

A second source - a medic at the local civilian hospital - said that he personally witnessed Syrian army helping those wounded and dealing with fatalities at the scene. That Syrian soldiers were among the reported 26 deaths has not been disputed by either side.

The military source who spoke to Channel 4 News confirmed that artillery reports from the Syrian Army suggest a small rocket was fired from the vicinity of Al-Bab, a district close to Aleppo that is controlled by Jabhat al-Nusra - a jihadist group said to be linked with al-Qaeda and deemed a "terrorist organization" by the US.

The American and independent weapons analysts do not believe that the regime or rebels used advanced chemical weapons last week, after studying initial intelligence reports and video coverage of survivors on state-run television.

However, they suspect that the victims were deliberately exposed to a "caustic" agent such as chlorine. This does not count as a chemical weapon, under terms laid down by international treaties, but as an improvised chemical device would represent a major escalation in the conflict.

Satellite intelligence analyzed in Washington does not indicate a major missile launch at the time of the alleged attack, but officials said there could have been a "creative use" of a caustic agent.

CL17 is normal chlorine for swimming pools or industrial purposes. It is rated as Level 2 under the chemical weapons convention, which means it is dual purpose - it can be used as a weapon as well as for industrial or domestic purposes. Level 1 agents are chemicals whose sole use is as weapons, such as the nerve agents sarin or tabun.

There has been extensive experimentation by insurgents in Iraq in the use of chlorine, which is harmful when mixed with water to form hydrochloric acid. It vaporizes quickly, meaning that in a big explosion it will evaporate; in a small blast - for instance, one delivered by a home-made rocket - it will turn into airborne droplets before dispersing quickly.

So it is likely only to produce limited casualties. In this case there were only 26 fatalities, far fewer than would be expected from a full chemical weapon attack. In short, it is easily improvised into a chemical device but not one that would be used by an army seeking mass-casualty effects.

Tellingly, just to the east of Aleppo, there is a rather nondescript factory whose purpose is to produce chlorine.

All claims by all sides in war need to be checked against available evidence. But what is clear in this case is that the Syrian claims do tally with some key agreed facts: the small number of casualties; proven availability of the chemical in the area; relatively low casualties; and a complaint taken seriously and acted upon by the UN with uncharacteristic speed.

Mr Ban said the UN would insist on "unfettered access" to the area under investigation. Allegations of chemical weapons usage are of course one of the most potent in the battle of claims and counter-claims in the conflict.

A government source confirmed that blood and soil samples had been collected and had been sent to the UN already. The UN has also been sent the phone numbers of the doctors involved.

Syria is believed to possess one of the largest stockpiles of chemical weapons in the world, allegedly holding supplies of sarin, mustard and VX gases, all banned under international law. Damascus denies the claims.

There have been repeated reports that Syria was moving chemical weapons as it lost control of swaths of the country to the rebels. As the civil war rages, one of the West's greatest fears is that these stockpiles could fall into the hands of Islamic extremists.

 - Alex Thomson - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/9950036/...