Leaked email claims that UN watchdog's report into alleged poison gas attack by Assad was doctored

[SubWater]

I support Palestinian state.

 

[jamahir]

I support Palestinian state.

That is good.

Do you then support the idea of a single democratic state for Israelis and Palestinians ?? The idea is not mine but Gaddafi's who called it "Isratin".

Assad supported al Qaeda.

How ??

 

[beijingwalker]

Even a fool will know that's a lie and scam, why did Assad do it? He is the last person having a reason to do it. that's simple logic, western lies can only fool dimwits.

 

[925boy]

I am neither an Iranian or a Russian, but I too believe that NATO made a false claim about Assad throwing chemical weapons on his citizens.

Also, I have asked you this before, you seem to have very sympathetic views for Syrian citizens when they are supposedly bombed by Assad's forces, but you have no sympathy for Palestinians. How ??

He has no sympathy for Palestinians, OR Afghans(US bombs) OR Yemenis(Saudi + GCC bombs)..Actually Israel has even killed civilians in Syria. Their most recent strike in the airport actually killed some civilians living nearby or in the airport.

Why do you support NATO governments who were the creators of such groups as al-Qaeda, FSA, al-Nusra etc ??

I have no idea either. I have shown him legit articles showing mid to high xxx,xxx deaths attributed to these countries' military campaigns.

* There are plenty evidences about Assad using chemical weapons.

Show us then! because new evidence has come out confirming the opposite is truth: US made OPCW doctor their reports!
OPCW Douma Docs

• 
  
  • Releases
  
  
  
  
  
  • Documents

All Releases

• Internal OPCW E-Mail - 23 November, 2019
• OPCW Whistleblower Panel on the Douma attack of April 2018 - 23 October, 2019

Internal OPCW E-Mail
23 November, 2019
OPCW management accused of doctoring Syrian chemical weapons report
Wikileaks today publishes an e-mail, sent by a member of an OPCW fact-finding mission to Syria to his superiors, in which he expresses his gravest concern over intentional bias introduced to a redacted version of the report he co-authored.

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons sent a team of experts to investigate allegations that a chemical attack took place in the Syrian city of Douma on the 7th of April 2018. The author of the e-mail was a member of that team and claims the redacted preliminary version of the report, misrepresents the facts he and his colleagues discovered on the ground. The e-mail is dated 22nd of June. It is addressed to Robert Fairweather, Chief of Cabinet, and forwarded to his deputy Aamir Shouket and members of the fact-finding mission to Douma.

He says this misrepresentation was achieved by selective omission, introducing a bias which undermines the credibility of the report. Further it is claimed that crucial facts, that have remained in the redacted version:

“...have morphed into something quite different to what was originally drafted.”

This is said to have been done at the behest of the Office of the Director General (a post that was held by Turkish diplomat Ahmet Üzümcü at the time, he has since been replaced by Spaniard Fernando Arias).

The attack in question was widely attributed to the Syrian Army, based on reports by rebel forces that were present in Douma at the time, and this assertion was backed up by the United States, British and French governments. These three countries carried out air strikes against Syrian government targets in response, on the 14th of April 2018. This was before the fact-finding team had gained access to the site in Douma, the mission there was delayed for nearly two weeks by entrenched rebel fighters and subsequent clashes between the rebels and government forces that moved into the area.

Upon arrival the team found much of the physical evidence, including the bodies of the deceased, was no longer available. It was alleged that 49 had died and up to 650 had been seriously affected by a weaponized chemical gas released in a specific area of rebel-held Douma on that day in April. Rebels claimed the gas came from cylinders dropped from aircraft, clearly implicating Syrian government forces who had complete air superiority.

The redacted report seemed to support these conclusions but the author of the released e-mail outlines some specific aspects of it which he considers: “particularly worrisome.”

Firstly, there is a statement in the redacted report. It states that there is sufficient evidence to determine the presence of “chlorine, or another reactive chlorine-containing chemical.”

The e-mail points out that this was:

“likely one or more chemicals that contain a reactive chlorine atom. Such chemicals could include… the major ingredient of household chlorine-based bleach. Purposely singling out chlorine gas as one of the possibilities is disingenuous.”

The redacted report also removed context from a claim in the original draft, which concerned the likelihood of the gas having emanated from cylinders found at the scene in Douma. The original text is said to have purposely emphasised that there was insufficient evidence to affirm this being the case. This is “a major deviation from the original report” according to the author.

He also cites problems with paragraph in the redacted version, which states:

”based on the high levels of various chlorinated organic derivatives detected in environmental samples”.

This is said to overstate the case. According to the e-mail:

“They were, in most cases, present only in parts per billion range, as low as 1-2 ppb, which is essentially trace quantities.”

One piece of evidence, which was shown on news networks across the world, was a video said to show victims being treated in a hospital in the aftermath of the attack in Douma. The symptoms shown were, however, not consistent with what witnesses reported seeing that day. A detailed discussion of this was apparently omitted from the redacted version of the OPCW report.

The e-mail states:

“Omitting this section of the report (including the Epidemiology which has been removed in its entirety) has a serious negative impact on the report as this section is inextricably linked to the chemical agent identified… In this case, the confidence in the identity of chlorine or any other choking agent is drawn into question precisely because of the inconsistency with the reported and observed symptoms. The inconsistency was not only noted by the fact-finding mission team, but strongly supported by three toxicologists with expertise in exposure to chemical warfare agents.”

Yet another point of contention is the placement and condition of the cylinders reported to have contained the chemical agent. It has been alleged that their condition may not be consistent with having been dropped from the air, compared to damaged in the immediate surrounding area. This was discussed in an unreleased engineering report from OPCW that was leaked and Wikileaks published in October 2019 and indicates it is unlikely the cylinders were air-dropped (see previous release: OPCW Whistleblower Panel on the Douma attack of April 2018)

Sections discussing this are largely absent from the redacted report. “This information was important in assessing the likelihood of the ‘presence’ of toxic chemicals versus the ‘use’ of toxic chemicals,” states the e-mail.

The author ends his letter with an appeal to the management to allow him to attach his differing observations to the document.

The annual conference of the states parties of the OPCW that is composed of representatives of all member states of the convention starts Monday November 25th in The Hague.

Media partnership and coordination: La Repubblica (Italy), Stundin (Iceland), Der Spiegel (Germany), Mail on Sunday (U.K.)

Leaked Documents
Internal OPCW E-Mail

OPCW Whistleblower Panel on the Douma attack of April 2018
23 October, 2019
Today WikiLeaks publishes a statement made by a panel that listened to testimony and reviewed evidence from a whistleblower from the OPCW (Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons) last week. To accompany this statement, Wikileaks is also publishing a previously leaked engineering assessment of the alleged chemical attack in Douma, Syria on April 7th last year. This assessment was omitted in the final report by the OPCW, which does not support its findings.

WikiLeaks editor Kristinn Hrafnsson took part in the panel to review the testimony and documents from the OPCW whistleblower. He says: “The panel was presented with evidence that casts doubt on the integrity of the OPCW. Although the whistleblower was not ready to step forward and/or present documents to the public, WikiLeaks believes it is now of utmost interest for the public to see everything that was collected by the Fact Finding Mission on Douma and all scientific reports written in relation to the investigation.

We call out to people within the OPCW to leak these documents securely to us via wikileaks.org/#submit” One of the panel members was Dr José Bustani, the first Director-General of the OPCW, who concluded that: “The convincing evidence of irregular behaviour in the OPCW investigation of the alleged Douma chemical attack confirms doubts and suspicions I already had. I could make no sense of what I was reading in the international press. Even official reports of investigations seemed incoherent at best. The picture is certainly clearer now, although very disturbing”

In support of the OPCW’s original objectives, the panel called upon the organisation to re-establish its credibility and legitimacy by allowing ‘all inspectors who took part in the Douma investigation to come forward and report their differing observations in an appropriate forum of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention’

https://wikileaks.org/opcw-douma/

There is ZERO evidence of false flag attacks.

Please see above. but there is ZERO chance that you are telling the truth on this forum. i will expose you for the manipulator that you are. when you are caught lying, you just restate the lie AGAIN, but assertively.

*

Do you believe that daily indiscriminate bombings by Assad are also false claim?

This happened saddly, sometimes, but its not happening daily, except in your mind. To you, Assad rains HELL CANNON MOABs on Syrian civilians. You cant show us stats showing us how many people died from these bombs. this is war, war is nasty. you just pump us with you fake stats to support your lies.

They slaughtered hundreds times more civilians than chemical.

And? i already showed you that US has killed 500,000 people in its wars in Afghanistan and Iraq wars. can you show me an actual reputable website OR other information that estimates how many civilians Assad killed?? If you're too lazy, i will take time to actualy find that information out. I'm curious about the truth. US has killed more people than Assad in the Middle east + Asia(dont even add the 1M citizens killed from sanctions on Iraq during Saddam days) and you're focus is to come on this forum and make Assad look like hitler? u crazy!

Assad supported al Qaeda.

So did all regional countries. what now? Every country in the ME + Asia has negotiated OR paid or facilitated AQ at some point. mention 1 that hasnt!!!

and what is the relevance of this point btw??? is it just a random irrelevant fact???

 

[jamahir]

He has no sympathy for Palestinians

I am waiting for him about his opinion that Israel, West Bank Palestine and Gaza Palestine can form a single state which can be named Isratin or another name.

 

[500]

He has no sympathy for Palestinians, OR Afghans(US bombs) OR Yemenis(Saudi + GCC bombs)..Actually Israel has even killed civilians in Syria. Their most recent strike in the airport actually killed some civilians living nearby or in the airport.

Russia made genocide in Afghanistan, just like now in Syria. You are whitewashing both genocides. There is no any genocide in Yemen or Afghanistan under US:

I have no idea either. I have shown him legit articles showing mid to high xxx,xxx deaths attributed to these countries' military campaigns.

Assad supported Al Qaeda (by the way Bin Ladens mom was Alawi).
Russia encouraged its citizens to go and fight for ISIS.

Show us then! because new evidence has come out confirming the opposite is truth: US made OPCW doctor their reports!

I showed million times. For example about largest attack in Ghouta which killed 1400 people:

Evidences against Assad:
1) Victims were opposition to Assad. Soon after that attack Assad made significant achievements in Ghouta.
2) Rockets used in chemical attack were so called "Volcano". ONLY ASSAD uses them. First they hided them, but then they proudly made pics with them:

3) Azimuths measured by UN commission show that rockets came from Assad areas:

4) UN concluded that Sarin used in attack was high military grade quality. Very large quantity also indicates it came from army stocks.

https://undocs.org/A/HRC/25/65

So all possible evidences indicate it was Assad. There is ZERO evidence against rebels. By whitewashing these crimes u put blood of kids on your hands too.

 

[Cthulhu]

PETER HITCHENS reveals fresh evidence that UN watchdog suppressed report casting doubt on Assad gas attack

By PETER HITCHENS FOR THE MAIL ON SUNDAY

PUBLISHED: 22:49 GMT, 14 December 2019 | UPDATED: 14:19 GMT, 15 December 2019

The global chemical weapons watchdog is facing renewed questions after fresh details emerged about how it suppressed the findings of its own inspectors who raised serious doubts about an alleged poison gas attack in Syria.

The Mail on Sunday can reveal that a senior official at the Organisation for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) demanded the ‘removal of all traces’ of a document which undermined claims that gas cylinders had been dropped from the air – a key element of the ‘evidence’ that the Syrian regime was responsible.

Unconfirmed reports and videos showing the bodies of adults and children foaming at the mouth in Douma, a rebel-held Damascus suburb, shocked the world in April 2018.

Children are pictured after the attack. Alleged casualties shown in videos of the attack were foaming at the mouth in a way that might be expected of victims of sarin, but not by victims of chlorine. Yet all the reports agree that no traces of sarin were found at Douma

A week later, without waiting for proof that chemical weapons had been used, Britain, France and the US launched a retaliatory missile strike, the biggest Western military action of the eight-year war.

It was only after the blitz that a team of OPCW inspectors – non-political scientists – were able to visit Douma to investigate the attack, later detailing their conclusions in a report.

Last month, The Mail on Sunday revealed details of a leaked email – whose authenticity has since been verified by the OPCW – which protested that the scientists’ original interim report had been censored to change its meaning.

Fernando Arias, Director-General of the OPCW, has insisted that he stands by ‘the independent, professional conclusions’ of the organisation’s final report which was released in March.

But this newspaper has now obtained the team’s original, uncensored interim report which differs sharply from all later versions, including the March document.

That final report claimed there were ‘reasonable grounds’ that chlorine gas was used in Douma, but an OPCW whistleblower says only tiny quantities of chlorine were detected in forms possible to find in any household.

The original interim report also mentioned for the first time doubts about the origin of the cylinders, saying: ‘The FFM [Fact-Finding Mission] team is unable to provide satisfactory explanations for the relatively moderate damage to the cylinders allegedly dropped from an unknown height, compared to the destruction caused to the rebar-reinforced roofs.

‘In the case of Location 4 [one of two sites where a cylinder was found], how the cylinder ended up on the bed, given the point at which it allegedly penetrated the room, remains unclear.’

The report called for further studies to clarify the point. One such study was then conducted by Ian Henderson, a veteran OPCW inspector and specialist chemical engineer with military experience.

US cruise missile is launched in retaliation. It was only after the blitz that a team of OPCW inspectors – non-political scientists – were able to visit Douma to investigate the attack, later detailing their conclusions in a report

In it, Mr Henderson, who visited the Douma site, cast severe doubt on the belief that the cylinders had been dropped from the air. This was crucial because only the Syrian regime had aircraft.

If the cylinders could be shown to have been dropped from above, it would strongly point to Syrian President Bashar Assad’s guilt.

However, after careful consultation with other experts, Mr Henderson concluded there was a ‘higher probability that both cylinders were manually placed … rather than being delivered from aircraft’.

But perhaps most shocking of all were the actions of a senior OPCW official whose name is known to The Mail on Sunday and who is known to some of the organisation’s staff as ‘Voldemort’.

Mr Henderson tried to get his research included in the final report, but when it became clear it would be excluded, he lodged a copy in a secure registry, known as the Documents Registry Archive (DRA).

This is normal practice for such confidential material, but when ‘Voldemort’ heard about it, he sent an email to subordinates saying: ‘Please get this document out of DRA … And please remove all traces, if any, of its delivery/storage/whatever in DRA’.

Another striking omission from the final report was the removal of detailed evidence (contained in the original interim report). This highlighted dramatic inconsistencies in witness statements.

This evidence, clear in the interim report, was, according to the sources, replaced with ‘cherry-picked’ quotes from witnesses and ‘there was no systematic presentation of the discrepancies’.

The uncensored original interim report raises other doubts about the chlorine claim, saying: ‘The inconsistency between the presence of a putative, chlorine-containing choking or blood agent on the one hand and the testimonies of alleged witnesses and symptoms observed from video footage and photographs, on the other, cannot be rationalised.’

The final report omitted key reservations, expressed in the original interim report, that the symptoms seen in films of the alleged victims did not fit any gas that might have been used at Douma.

Alleged casualties shown in videos of the attack were foaming at the mouth in a way that might be expected of victims of sarin, but not by victims of chlorine. Yet all the reports agree that no traces of sarin were found at Douma.

These doubts were confirmed by expert toxicologists consulted by the OPCW investigation team on a visit to Germany in June 2018.

They concluded ‘there was no correlation between symptoms and chlorine exposure’.

In a key passage it adds ‘the team considered two possible explanations for the incongruity.

‘A) The victims were exposed to another highly toxic chemical agent that gave rise to the symptoms observed and has so far gone undetected.

‘B) The fatalities resulted from a non-chemical-related incident.’ In other words, either the victims died from an unknown, undetected gas for which no evidence exists or there never was a chemical attack.

Sources stress that the scientists involved are ‘non-political, utterly uninterested in any strategic implications of what they reveal’.

They just ‘feel that the OPCW has a duty to be true to its own science, and not to be influenced by political considerations as they fear it has been’.

An internal memo seen by The Mail on Sunday suggests that as many 20 OPCW staff have expressed private doubts about the suppression of information or the manipulation of evidence.

The OPCW media office now declines to respond to questions from The Mail on Sunday.

Senior OPCW staff members who were contacted directly also did not reply to questions.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...ed-report-casting-doubt-Assad-gas-attack.html