Syria: 'Bashar al-Assad ordered me to gas people - but I could not do it'

[ProSense]

Syria: 'Bashar al-Assad ordered me to gas people - but I could not do it'

General Zaher al-Sakat tells Richard Spencer that he was ordered three times to use chemical weapons against his own people in Syria - but he could not go through with it.

By Richard Spencer, Amman

Few thought that the Syrian regime's promise to destroy its chemical weapons would be the end of the story. Brigadier-General Zaher al-Sakat, a former chemical weapons chief in President Bashar al-Assad's own army, certainly did not.

Gen Sakat says he was ordered three times to use chemical weapons against his own people, but could not go through with it and replaced chemical canisters with ones containing harmless bleach.

He also insists that all such orders had to come from the top – President Assad himself – despite insistent denials by the regime that it has never used chemical weapons.

Now he also claims to have his own intelligence that the Syrian president is evading the terms of a Russian-brokered deal to destroy his chemical weapons by transferring some of his stocks to his allies – Hizbollah, in Lebanon, and Iran.

- more -

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10325193/Syria-Bashar-al-Assad-ordered-me-to-gas-people-but-I-could-not-do-it.html

[Jefferson23]

1. He defected from the Syrian army to the rebel forces in March. When he defected, he never mentioned

the chemical weapons incident...interesting.

[ProSense]

2. You think he's lying? n/t

[Jefferson23]

11. There is reason to question his story and motives. I don't know if he's lying. n/t

[Zater]

3. It's also worth pointing out that OP does not mention the fact he's a defector

It would be possible for people not familiar with this guy reading this thread that he's still a "General".

In fact, he is not a general, if he left his job as a...General. He is a former General.

But to point that out wouldn't be very exciting.

The article waits until the 24th paragraph to note he defected. But again, this 24th paragraph should have been included in OP for context.

[Jefferson23]

9. Agreed.

Welcome to DU.

[Cha]

4. Not good if this is accurate..

"Now he also claims to have his own intelligence that the Syrian president is evading the terms of a Russian-brokered deal to destroy his chemical weapons by transferring some of his stocks to his allies – Hizbollah, in Lebanon, and Iran."

[Igel]

5. No, it wouldn't be.

Then again, there's no special reason to think his claim is accurate. Lots of "intelligence" turns out to be false, and a lot of his information may come 2nd, 3rd, 4th hand.

This doesn't mean his claim is inaccurate.

Instead, we're left with exactly what we had before. A suspicion that Assad won't do as he says, but with need of actual evidence before we can say he's not doing what he said he'd do.

[karynnj]

7. Note as others pointed out that he deserted in March

-- this may not mean his claims are untrue, but it is noteworthy that he appears not to have gone to someone like Ban Ki Moon to speak of what he was asked. It would have been important because if he were asked, others likely were as well. As to how he is honoring the week old agreement, the question is how he has that information. It clearly cannot be as an insider because he is deserted - and very much an outsider.

The problem here is that he has current vested interests that would make him say both of these things - and the former can't be checked.

I wonder - given his former high level - if his goal is to be highly placed in a transitional government. In addition, what did he do as a general for the first year and a half of the Civil War? There is very good reason to be skeptical of many deserters.

[Jefferson23]

8. Exactly, +1 n/t

[phleshdef]

10. I'm not YET hell bent on believing Assad launched the chemical attack.

I believe its likely that he did. And if I had to choose one side or the other to blame, it would be the Assad regime. But I'm willing to accept new evidence that says otherwise in the future.

Having said that, there certainly does seem to be a lot of DUers that ARE hell bent on believing his regime isn't responsible and that's troubling.

[Warren Stupidity]

12. It is like a wind in the sand.

Can I haz warburgers now?