Who would have thought the first 100 days are going to be known as the 'good old days'?
U.S. Invents Chem Weapons Threat And Claims It Defeats Threat By Warning Syria, Iran and Russia
In a bizarre moment of geopolitical theatre, the United States announced that Syria was planning “another” chemical weapons attack and the Syrian military would “pay a heavy price for doing so.” Apparently, U.S. military intelligence graduated from using facts to outright prophecy. Or, rather, should we say it graduated from facts and lies to outright absurdity?
The warning, which was announced by the White House amidst a rash of confusion in the wings of the Executive branch, was attributed to intelligence received pointing toward “active preparation” at a Syrian airfield for the use of chemical weapons.
As Reuters reported,
Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said the United States had recently seen activity at Shayrat airfield, the same base targeted by a U.S. cruise missile strike on April 6.
“This involved specific aircraft in a specific hangar, both of which we know to be associated with chemical weapons use,” Davis said.
Davis said the activity occurred during “the past day or two.” He did not say how the United States collected its intelligence.
The White House said on Monday it appeared the Syrian government was preparing for another chemical weapons attack and warned Assad that he and his military would “pay a heavy price” if it went ahead.
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U.S. Senator Bob Corker, Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the concerns about preparations for a chemical weapons attack were authentic.
“The claims that they made, from my perspective, are valid claims,” he said.
The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, said the Trump administration intended its warning to be aimed not just at Syria’s government but also at Russia and Iran, another supporter of Assad.
“I believe that the goal is, at this point, not just to send Assad a message but to send Russia and Iran a message that if this happens again we are putting you on notice,” Haley said in a hearing in the U.S. House of Representatives.
