US Official: Russia knew Syrian chemical attack was coming

A.P. The Big Story ^ | Apr. 11, 2017 9:07 AM EDT | By ROBERT BURNS and LOLITA C. BALDOR

[Yosemitest]

The United States has concluded that Russia knew ahead of time that Syria would launch a chemical weapons attack last week, ...

The official offered circumstantial elements ..., but no concrete proof.
... others in the Trump administration cautioned that final American determination had been made that Russia had advance knowledge of the attack, which killed more than 80 people and prompted retaliatory U.S. cruise missile strikes.

The senior official said Monday that a drone operated by Russians was flying over a hospital as victims of the attack were rushing to get treatment.
Hours after the drone left, a Russian-made fighter jet bombed the hospital in what American officials believe was an attempt to cover up the usage of chemical weapons.

The presence of the surveillance drone over the hospital couldn't have been a coincidence, the senior U.S. official said, arguing that Russia must have known the chemical weapons attack was coming and that victims were seeking treatment ...

A senior White House official later said there is "no U.S. intelligence community consensus" yet on when Russia might have known of the attack. ...

The allegation of Russian foreknowledge is grave, ...

Although Russia has steadfastly supported Syrian President Bashar Assad's government, and they've coordinated military attacks together,
Washington has never previously accused Moscow of complicity in any attack that involved the gassing of innocent civilians, including children. ...

... The official said the U.S. is now convinced Russia controlled the drone.
... it still isn't clear who was flying the jet that bombed the hospital, because the Syrians also fly Russian-made aircraft. ...

[Yosemitest]

So... "The official, who wasn't authorized to speak publicly on intelligence matters and demanded anonymity, ..." isn't named and doesn't want to be named.
Is this to be trusted ?
And what is ROBERT BURNS and LOLITA C. BALDOR past track record of being creditable reporters that can be trusted to give us real news?
Or are these two reporters more of the same LAME STREAM JOURNALISTS with their own agenda ?

If the Russian government knew before hand that Syria was going to gas those children, and allowed it to happen, what was in it for the Russians to gain,

especially if the Russians expected the drone and the jet that bombed the hospital ... to be 'found out' by the rest of the world ?

[pissant]

If you aren’t man enough to use your name when making such accusations, then you are likely a cowardly moron who doesn’t have the slightest idea what went down in Syria.

[Snowybear]

The senior official needs to be fired.

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

A well-intentioned source reputed to be able to read minds speculated on conditions of anonymity that he suspected that his circumstantial evidence, which he obtained from sources thought to be credible who nevertheless wished to remain and spoke to us on conditions of anonymity, that the neighbors dog crapped on his lawn, which he never does, which led him to believe his information was of a high degree of accuracy.

[soycd]

Here is what happened...

The filthy islam scum gassed those they could and the deep thinkers abstained from reality long enough to counter their evil with a plan to do what had to be done.

The fact remains... islam, “syrian rebels” and any other islamic trash must be destroyed.

Kill them in North Africa before they are born, kill them in palitrashville before or after they are born and just ban islam.

islam is pure evil and will kill you if you do not kill it first. Fact.

[BestPresidentEver]

memri.org has published some stuff saying Assad is targeting mostly sunni areas for attacks on civilians to try and drive them out and change the demographics of syria. The articles say even if they try to Assad won’t let any sunni refugees back in from Europe. And so the bombing of hospitals and markets in certain sunni dominated towns. Too lazy to link to this stuff but its at the memri site somewhere.

Anyway, lo and behold Idlib is a sunni island within Alawite territory. Expect the gassings to continue.

[Snowybear]

That sounds like the most intelligent assessment I’ve read in weeks.

[Rashputin]

The disposition of forces agreement was in effect, of course the Russians knew how many planes would strike that target, at what time, and plus or minus an hour when it would take place because that's what they agreed to give the US and they've followed that agreement to the letter since it went into effect.

I seriously doubt that if chemical weapons were used by the aircraft as opposed to the Al-Nusra/Al-Qeda crowd who have controlled that city for years using them in a false flag, that either the Russians or anyone in the Syrian Army knew about it. I can imagine some lower level guy using captured chemical weapons on the people who have used them at least fifty times on Syrian troops, but that's the only the way I would believe Syrian government is involved.

Trump and Tillerson say the Syrian people can decide wither Assad stays or not and regime change is off the table, McCain rushes off to visit his pals who are fighting Assad, then boom, a "chemical attack" and regime changes is back on the table.

I don't know why anyone believes that the same people at the top of the Intelligence Community who have been undermining Trump since before the election are giving him all the facts rather than what fits their own agenda.

JMHo

[pissant]

Considering that Syria is 69% Sunni and 11% Alawis, that would be the dumbest strategy ever.

[Yosemitest]

"I can imagine some lower level guy using captured chemical weapons on the people who have used them at least fifty times on Syrian troops,
but that's the only the way I would believe Syrian government is involved."

The problem with your assumption is the radar track footage of the Syrian aircraft while they were doing that chemical attack.
Do you really believe "some lower level guy" or guys were flying the aircraft that dropped those chemical weapons ?
Do you really believe "some lower level guy" or guys were flying the aircraft that dropped those bombs on the hospital as victims of the attack were rushing to get treatment ?

[RedWulf]

>memri.org has published some stuff saying Assad is targeting mostly sunni areas for attacks on civilians to try and drive them out and change the demographics of syria. The articles say even if they try to Assad won’t let any sunni refugees back in from Europe. And so the bombing of hospitals and markets in certain sunni dominated towns. Too lazy to link to this stuff but its at the memri site somewhere.

That’s the Israeli line, but it’s non nonsensical. The Sunni majority is far too large to reduce without killing 10 of millions. Israel want’s Assad gone so they’re feeding us propaganda.

Sunni Arabs make up 61% of the country.

The people feeding us crap about the Russian being in on a chemical weapons attack want war with Russia.

[BestPresidentEver]

The shiites consider the alawites to be an offshoot of shiitism. The Christians think the alawites treat them better than the other muslims. Syria gets more alawite, shiite and Christian as you go eastward. The mid eastern press thinks he’s given up on the sunnis and wants to create better demographics for his people within the part he is likely to keep.

[Rashputin]

Good Gawd, if they know when a flight is taking off, the approximate route, and about what time it was going to take place, what's the big deal with a radar track?

Of course they have a radar track, they watch to see that the strikes they've been told about are the ones that take place. The Russians have been doing the exact same thing since the disposition of forces agreement went into effect in spite of the fact that the US hasn't always announced in advance when and where they'd strike.

I guess you figure that a few officers who have captured weapons would automatically report everything up the chain of command rather than get some payback. BS about the radar track doesn't mean a thing since anything that flies in Syria is monitored and the flight path recorded by both the US and Russia as well as probably by Israel.

Flight paths don't prove a thing other than the aircraft flew the strike the Russians at roughly the time the US was told those planes would make an attack. Nothing about the aircraft weapons load out.

Fine, you believe whatever makes you most comfortable, but people who have routinely used chemical weapons against Syrian Army and Kurdish troops had something to gain from a false flag while Assad had nothing to gain from employing chemical weapons.

[Slyfox]

The official offered circumstantial elements ..., but no concrete proof.

Which libtard-demoncrap said something about the series of the charge required a full investigation? Or whatever.

Sounds like the media is allergic to facts.

[BestPresidentEver]

“Israel want’s Assad gone so they’re feeding us propaganda.”

All the Israelis I’ve talked to admire the Assad’s family ability to make logical decisions, unlike so many other Arabs. They wish the rest of the Arabs were like this. Never got the impression that Israelis views the Assad family as a negative for them.

[Reverend Wright]

“memri.org has published some stuff saying Assad is targeting mostly sunni areas for attacks on civilians to try and drive them out and change the demographics of syria. “

I agree with that, except that it’s not something that Assad is trying to do - he has already done it. There are 5 mil Syrian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Europe. Most of them are sunni and there is no way they will ever get back if Assad is still there.

Putin is fine with this, he thinks it is great. The more of these refugees end up in western Europe. The more the EU core is destabilized and divided.

[Yosemitest]

Go back to the original source that I had to excerpt.

"...U.S. officials previously have said Russians routinely work with Syrians at the Shayrat air base where the attack is supposed to have originated.
U.S. officials say the chemical weapons were stored there and that those elements add to the conclusion that Russia was complicit in the attack. ..."

So the chemical weapons were stored at the Syrian Military Base where the planes took off from, and later, landed at.
This weapons were not 'captured', but were brought TO Syria OUT OF IRAQ many years ago.

Remember this:

Satellite photo of hundreds of trucks systematically leaving an Iraqi weapons dump, early 2003.

FLASHBACK: Where did Saddam’s WMD go? To Syria …

[Rashputin]

"All the Israelis I’ve talked to admire the Assad’s family ability to make logical decisions, unlike so many other Arabs."

I haven't heard that from them in years. Isn't their saying that from before a couple years ago when Israel discovered oil under the part of the Golan Heights they occupy and have acknowledged that it's part of Syria?

[Rashputin]

Doesn't change a thing. I'm glad you're happy, though since you can see inside those trucks and on top of that, are sure they were carrying chemical weapons rather than other munitions being sold to Syria at cut rate prices to fill the Sadaam family bug out bag.

After all, I can as easily see small arms and artillery munitions along with anti-tank weapons in those trucks as you can see what you want to see. Oh, and look at the 23rd truck heading toward the top of the picture, it's full of uniforms!! Illegal uniforms.

[RedWulf]

>All the Israelis I’ve talked to admire the Assad’s family ability to make logical decisions, unlike so many other Arabs. They wish the rest of the Arabs were like this. Never got the impression that Israelis views the Assad family as a negative for them.

I’m talking about their government and their propaganda organs.