from CounterPunch
Claims that President Bashar al-Assad’s forces have used chemical
weapons are almost as old as the Syrian civil war itself. They have
produced strong reactions, and none more so than in the case of the
alleged attack in April last year on the opposition-controlled area of
Douma near Damascus in which 43 people are said to have been killed by
chlorine gas. The United States, Britain and France responded by
launching airstrikes on targets in the Syrian capital.
Were the strikes justified? An inspector from the eight-member team
sent to Douma has just come forward with disturbing allegations about
the international watchdog, the Organisation for the Prohibition of
Chemical Weapons, which was tasked with obtaining and examining
evidence.
Involved in collecting samples as well as drafting the OPCW’s interim
report, he claims his evidence was suppressed and a new report was
written by senior managers with assertions that contradicted his
findings.
The inspector went public with his allegations at a recent all-day
briefing in Brussels for people from several countries working in
disarmament, international law, military operations, medicine and
intelligence. They included Richard Falk, former UN special rapporteur
on Palestine and Major-General John Holmes, a distinguished former
commander of Britain’s special forces. The session was organised by the
Courage Foundation, a New York-based fund which supports
whistle-blowers. I attended as an independent reporter...
[read more here]
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