September 18, 2013

Syria: United Nations report does not blame the regime for chemical weapons use - really?

AP/Shaam Network

The United Nations has released its report on the August 21 chemical attacks in the southern and eastern suburbs of Damascus. You can read or download the full report on the United Nations website.

The report is carefully worded to detail the fact that chemical weapons were fired into the suburbs of Damascus, details the type of munition used and the chemical nerve agent dispersed. It does not specify who was responsible for the attacks.

Or does it?

The answer can be found on page 23 of the report. There are references to Impact Site Number 1, Impact Site Number 2 and Impact Site Number 4. Sites 1 and 2 are located in the southern Damascus suburb of Mu'adhamiyah; Site 4 is in the eastern suburb of 'Ayn Tarma (this eastern suburban area is also referred to as the East Ghutah).

Here are the telling portions:

Impact Site Number 1 - "...the original trajectory of the projectile, as it hit the ground, had an azimuth of 215 degrees. Impact Site Number 2 is located 65 meters away from number 1 and with an azimuth of 214 degrees. Both relative positions are fully congruent with the dispersion pattern commonly associated with rockets launched from a single, multi-barrel, launcher."

Impact Site Number 4 - "The projectile, in the last stage of its trajectory, hit the surface in an area of earthy, relatively soft, ground where the shaft/engine of he projectile remained dug in, undisturbed until investigated.

"The said shaft/engine, presenting no form of lateral bending, pointed in a bearing of 285 degrees that, again, represent a reverse azimuth to the trajectory followed by the rocket during its flight. It can be, thus, concluded that the original azimuth of the rocket trajectory had an azimuth of 105 degrees, in an East/Southeast trajectory."



If you draw the azimuths in reverse, the lines point to Jabal Qasiyun, the garrison of the Republican Guard (under the command of Syrian President Bashar al-Asad's brother Mahir) which has been used to shell the East Ghutah (Impact Site 4) and Mu'adhamiyah (Impact Sites 1 and 2) areas for months. Alternately, the attack on Mu'adhamiyah could have been launched from al-Mizzah air base, also on the same axis.

To this military analyst, these are sound indications that it was the Syrian regime that fired the chemical rockets. Perhaps Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov might want to read the United Nations report instead of continuing to advance their fantasy that it was the rebels who used the nerve agent to provoke a Western reaction.

Sorry, товарищи (comrades), it was your man in Damascus that did it.