Inner City Press: Investigative Reporting from the United Nations

France Says Assad Did It, Because Rebels Lack "Savoir-Faire," Ignoring Nusra, 9/11

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, September 2 -- The French government has concluded that chemical weapons were used around Damascus, by the Assad government.

How do they know this? By process of elimination: the French report concludes that no one in the "Syrian insurrection" has the savoir-faire with chemical weapons. Nevermind that Al Nusra was found with sarin, in Turkey, as Inner City Press noted here Nevermind that before 9/11/01 no one could be said to have the "savoir-faire" for that. The time to pile on reports, or just to say that evidence not share with others as NATO's Rasmussen did, is apparently here.

The French government's nine page report just release concludes:

"we believe that the Syrian opposition does not have the capacity to lead an operation of such magnitude with chemical agents. No group belonging to the Syrian insurrection has, at this stage, the ability to store and use these agents, let alone in a proportion similar to that used on the night of August 21, 2013 in Damascus. These groups have neither the experience nor the know-how to implement them, in particular by vectors such as those used in the attack on 21 August."

The above is a Google Translation of the final paragraph of this French report.

As the Obama administration starts public and closed-door lobbying of Congress about chemical weapons in Syria, in the UK Nick Clegg has dismissed the idea of a second vote there. Defense Minister Hammond said much would have to change to even call a second vote.

How about letting the US use UK facilities on Cyprus to take action on Syria? Number 10, Inner City Press learned and tweeted Sunday, has said there are no plans to offer assistance if allies like the US "choose a military response." It would apparently be different with regard to US bases on UK soil.

Whether or not the US would really need to use facilities in Cyprus, some in the US see it as a slap in the face. Could that dramatic "Death Notice for the Special Relationship" contain more truth than initially thought?

Meanwhile, which Secretary General gets the Syria chemical weapons evidence now being talked about so publicly -- the UN's or NATO's?

On September 1 Inner City Press asked UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson Martin Nesirky if the hair and blood sample evidence US Secretary of State John Kerry was talking about had been shared with the UN.

Nesirky said he didn't know.

On September 2 another Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen of NATO announced that "I have been presented with concrete information and, without going into details, I can tell you that personally I am convinced, not only that a chemical attack has taken place, but I am also convinced that the Syrian regime is responsible."

Putting aside for the moment whether is it NATO's Rasmussen's role to be publicly ruling on evidence "without going into detail," it is striking that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon either didn't get the US' evidence, or wouldn't disclose that he had. (Previously, Nesirky did confirm to Inner City Press the receipt of other evidence.)

When Ban Ki-moon signed a Memorandum of Understanding with NATO, there were questions from Russia and others if this was appropriate. (Then, NATO and not the UN was given a role in a plan for Libya that Inner City Press exclusively put online.)

The UN declined to make public or even summarize its MOU with NATO. It and UN agreements like it should be made public; the new Free UN Coalition for Access @FUNCA_info is and will be pushing for this.

Here's a question: under the MOU, shouldn't Rasmussen of NATO share with Ban Ki-moon this supposedly convincing evidence -- especially if the UN won't or can't say if the US has?

Returning to NATO itself, why would Rasmussen interject himself as an individuals into this question of evidence, pending now before the US Congress and, at least in UN-world, on hold while the samples collected in Syria are running through European labs, with two Syrian government representatives in toe? Where is the accountability for Rasmussen? Watch this site.

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