Intelligence report says U.S. officials knew about nerve-gas attack in Syria

Full Title: Intelligence report says U.S. officials knew about nerve-gas attack in Syria three days before it killed over 1,400 people – including more than 400 children

• A U.S. intelligence report released  Friday by the Obama Administration indicates that they knew about a chemical  attack by the Syrian military three days before it happened 
• Officials refused to answer whether or  not they warned rebels before the August 21 attack on a suburb of  Damascus
• Members of the opposition say they were  given no advance warning
• According to U.S. estimates, 1,429 people  died in the nerve-gas attack including 426 children

By Ashley Collman

PUBLISHED:09:46 EST, 1  September 2013| UPDATED:11:27 EST, 1 September 2013

In his press conference yesterday, President  Barack Obama said that there was ‘overwhelming evidence’ Syrian President Bashar  al-Assad carried out a chemical weapons attack against rebels in the suburbs of  Damascus on August 21.

What he didn’t mention was that his  administration knew about the alleged nerve-gas attack three days before it  happened.

At a U.S. intelligence briefing Friday  afternoon, senior administration officials disclosed that there were indications  three days prior that an attack was coming.

Advanced notice: According to a report released Friday,  the U.S. received signals that the Syrian military was about to carry out a  chemical weapons attack on August 21, three days before it happened

Ready: President Obama announced in a press conference  yesterday that he had enough evidence to justify a military strike against  Syria. What he didn’t mention is how intelligence officials knew about the  attack before it happened

‘In the three days prior to the attack, we  collected streams of human, signals and geospatial intelligence that reveal  regime activities that we assess were association with preparations for a  chemical weapons attack,’ the U.S. intelligence report released by the Obama  administration said.

At the briefing, officials would not answer  of whether or not they warned rebel forced before the attack.

But at least two opposition members told Foreign Policy magazine that they had no idea the attack was  coming.

Dishad Othman is a Syrian activist and  secure-communications expert living in the U.S. He says his opposition contacts  in Syria had no warning before the chemical weapons attack.

‘If you knew, why did you take no action?’  Othman asked.

Razan Zaitouneh, another opposition member  who lives in one of the towns affected, said she too knew nothing about the  oncoming attack.

‘It’s unbelievable that they did nothing to  warn people to stop the regime before the crime,’ she said.

Questions: Members of the Syrian opposition questioned  why the U.S. didn’t warn them an attack was coming if they knew about it three  days before it happened

The U.S. intelligence report concluding that  the Assad regime had used chemical weapons against it’s own people on August 21  was based on ‘a substantial body of information’ including satellite imagery,  intercepted communications and social media reports around the time of the  attack .

‘Our high confidence assessment is the  strongest position that the U.S. Intelligence Community can take short of  confirmation,’ the report said. ‘We will continue to seek additional information  to close gaps in our understanding of what took place.’

One of those gaps seems to be whether the  order was executed at a high level within the Syrian military, or if it was  carried out by a rogue military officer.

One of the reports confirming the attack  happened came from a phone call intercepted by the U.S. between a panicked  Syrian Minister of Defense and the leader of a chemical weapons unit.

The minster was demanding answers for the  strike which could be evidence that it wasn’t directly orderd by President  Assad.

Nevertheless, in his speech yesterday,  President Obama said he is holding President Assad responsible.

The U.S. has determined that 1,429 people  were killed in the chemical weapons attack on a suburb of Damascus on August 21.

The chemicals weapons used a nerve-gas agent  which caused it’s victims to asphyxiate.

Intel says that 426 children were among the  attack’s victims.

Innocents: According to U.S. estimates, of the 1,429  killed in the attack, 426 were children

An assessment conducted by British  intelligence estimates a much lower death toll of 350 people.

But President Obama and Secretary of State  John Kerry are confident that the attack happened and that any military action  in the country won’t be like the 2003 invasion of Iraq for so-called ‘weapons of  mass destruction.’

‘We will not repeat that moment,’ Secretary  Kerry said.

Which is why President Obama announced  yesterday that the U.S. ‘should take military action’ even before U.N.  inspectors have finished their investigation.

Weapons inspectors left Syria yesterday and  now need at least 10 to 14 days to analyze samples they took from the attack  site to verify if nerve gas was used.

‘Redundant’: The UN high representative for disarmament  affairs negotiated with President Assad to let weapons inspectors into the  country last week. They now need 10 to 14 days to analyze the samples they  collected

The White House has called this investigation  ‘redundant’ so President Obama has set up the military strike, pending approval  from Congress.

It’s still uncertain whether or not Congress  will support the strikes and there is a chance that they will vote against the  strikes as the UK’s Parliament did last week.

Whether or not Congress approves the strikes,  they will no longer come as a surprise to President Assad who has been given  time to build up his defenses.

‘This is one worry that we have. Sice the  international community has begun talking about a response to the chemical  massacre, what we have noticed is that the Assad regime has started moving  different military units into different areas,’ Khaled Saleh, media director of  the Syrian National Coalition told Foreign Policy magazine. ‘So they’re using  that time to hide their more well-armed units. And you know, when they move them  to schools, the U.S. and the international community can’t do a whole lot about  that.’

Pending approval: President Obama said he would wait to  get authorization from Congress before carrying out any strike. He was pictured  speaking on the phone to Speaker of the House John Boehner yesterday. (mediachecker-the overwhelming majority of the American people continue to say NO to war with Syria. And what’s with his foot on the desk?)

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2408404/Intelligence-report-says-U-S-officials-knew-nerve-gas-attack-Syria-days-killed-1-400-people-including-400-children.html#ixzz2eEsRCQjk Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

“Syria official Faisal Mekdad accuses Obama of  indecision.”  Was it yet another indecision by Obama, the EU, the Muslim Brotherhood and their Islamic Jihad wing? Remember Benghazi!

And what’s with his stinky foot on the desk?

CONFIRMED: US Claims Against Syria – There is no Evidence

August 28, 2013 (Tony Cartalucci) – The Wall Street Journal has confirmed
what many suspected, that the West’s so-called “evidence” of the latest alleged
“chemical attacks” in Syria, pinned on the Syrian government are fabrications
spun up from the West’s own dubious intelligence agencies.

http://landdestroyer.blogspot.com/2013/08/cofirmed-us-claims-against-syria-there.html

The Lies at the Heart of the Obama/Kerry Push for War—and Why They’ve Backfired

Greg Mitchell on September 6, 2013 –

http://www.thenation.com/blog/176057/lies-heart-obamakerry-push-war-and-why-theyve-backfired#axzz2eEXO8XKJ

Oh dear, even “The Nation” magazine doesn’t believe their chosen one! And they took pot-shots at their Flat Earth Medi (FEM) pals – the MSNBC critters!! Things they are-a changing…but not the way the “chosen one” wanted…at least domestically.