Syria to allow UN inspect 'chemical weapon' attack site

[dipsydoodle]

The Syrian government has agreed to allow UN inspectors to visit the site of a suspected chemical weapon attack outside Damascus, state media report.

The move came shortly after a senior US official told reporters there was "very little doubt" that a chemical weapon had been used by government forces.

Activists say Syrian forces killed more than 300 people in several suburbs east and west of the capital on Wednesday.

The Syrian authorities have denied any responsibility and blamed "terrorists".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23833912

"On Saturday evening, US President Barack Obama and UK Prime Minister David Cameron agreed that there should be a "serious response" if Syrian troops had used chemical weapons." but made no mention of what the response would be if the insurgents had carried out the attack

[pampango]

1. That is good news. If the rebels did this, it is in Assad's interest to get the UN team there

as fast as possible. Thanks for posting this news, dippydoodle.

[dipsydoodle]

2. Stocks of industrial grade sodium hyperchlorite etc

had already been found at an insurgent base a month so back. Any trace of that will give the game away.

[pampango]

3. It certainly would. Traces of certain other chemicals would cast doubt on Assad's culpability.

It is smart of Assad to grant the UN quick access. It will be interesting to see if the rebels do the same. Assad probably hopes they do not. That would make them look very guilty.

If the rebels do also allow quick access, I suspect that the side that knows it is guilty still try to delay the team's arrival on site with last minute hurdles and start trying to discredit the UN inspectors even before they have reached a conclusion. Whichever side is guilty must want to delay a UN determination and/or lessen the team's credibility and hence the possible impact of its decision.

[Ichingcarpenter]

4. Noooo... We Want to go to War

I don't care if it was a false flag.

[xchrom]

5. Du rec. Nt

[BOG PERSON]

6. "activists" originally said 1000+ people had been killed by the CW

medicins san frontieres revised it downwards to 355

[Ichingcarpenter]

7. There are some nasty guys fighting on both sides

I wouldn't put past either side on atrocities.
However the question must be asked


Who benefits from this attack?

The Rebels or the Regime?

What tactical advantage?

What Strategic value?

What Propaganda value?

The Art of War

[BOG PERSON]

8. well its a civil war

nasty shit is going to happen, all the crazies come out of the woodwork

but the "opposition" is unaccountable in a way the syrian government is not, because the former has the unqualified support of the gcc-nato alliance. while the latter has to answer to ordinary syrians with something other than state terror, at the end of the day

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

9. White House says the offer is "too late". New York Times

The diplomacy of the sledge hammer.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/26/world/middleeast/syria-says-un-will-get-access-to-site-of-possible-chemical-attack.html?pagewanted=all

A senior Obama administration official said on Sunday that there was “very little doubt” that President Bashar al-Assad’s military forces in Syria had used chemical weapons against civilians last week and that a promise to allow United Nations inspectors access to the site was“too late to be credible.”

The official, in a carefully worded written statement, said that “based on the reported number of victims, reported symptoms of those who were killed or injured, witness accounts and other facts gathered by open sources, the U.S. intelligence community, and international partners, there is very little doubt at this point that a chemical weapon was used by the Syrian regime against civilians in this incident.”

The official, who released the statement under the condition of anonymity, described the attack on Wednesday in a Damascus suburb, which reportedly killed hundreds of civilians, as “indiscriminate,” suggesting that the episode might be different from earlier, smaller-scale suspected chemical attacks.

[BOG PERSON]

10. Iraq pledges more cooperation with U.N. inspectors

United Nations weapons inspectors wrapped up weekend meetings with high-level Iraqi officials Sunday. Chief U.N. inspector Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) hope Iraq will be more cooperative with U.N. Resolution 1441, which calls on the Gulf nation to disarm. But U.S. officials say Iraq has offered too little, too late.

www.cnn.com/2003/fyi/news/02/09/iraq.inspectors/

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

11. Yep. All that's missing now is the cowboy boots and smirk.