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U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton has warned the Syrian government it should not see the impending U.S. military withdrawal from the country as an invitation to use chemical weapons. U.S. President Donald Trump said in December that U.S. troops had succeeded in their mission to defeat Islamic State militants and were no longer needed in the country. The announcement, which took officials in Washington and allies abroad by surprise, contributed to Jim Mattis’ decision to resign as U.S. defense secretary and prompted concern that Islamic State could stage a comeback.

A report on Monday claimed that U.S. intelligence has determined that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has already made a decision to use chemical weapons against enemy positions in Idlib as his forces, combined with Russian airpower, attack the last rebel stronghold following seven years of civil war. The Wall Street Journal [source], citing unnamed intelligence sources, even noted the type of gas Assad has allegedly chosen: Chlorine gas, which was first used in World War I and has the effect of an asphyxiation compound. In addition, according to sources who spoke to the WSJ, President Donald Trump has also reportedly...

President Bashar al-Assad has approved a gas attack in the Idlib province, which is the country’s last rebel stronghold, a report on Sunday said...The Wall Street Journal reported that the international pressure did little to sway Assad, who benefits from support from Russia and Iran. The report said Assad has approved the use of chlorine gas...Russian President Vladimir Putin called for a “total annihilation of terrorists in Syria,” while Iranian President Hassan Rouhani spoke of “cleansing the Idlib region of terrorists.”

War Drums: As the Syrian military prepares to assault Idlib, where the last rebel stronghold remains, the top U.S. envoy to the region says the Assad government is prepping to use chemical weapons. That comes as Russian military officials have warned American counterparts they are preparing to support Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces and that targeting could include a base currently occupied by a group of U.S. troops.

<p>A bellicose President Trump wanted to kill Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad after he launched a chemical weapons attack on civilians in April 2017, according to the new White House tell-all by Bob Woodward of the Washington Post.</p> <p>The commander-in-chief called Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and issued the deadly order.</p>

The Trump administration is hitting Russia with new sanctions punishing President Vladimir Putin's government for using a chemical weapon against an ex-spy in Britain, U.S. officials told NBC News Wednesday. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo signed off on a determination that Russia violated international law by poisoning the former spy, Sergei Skripal, and his daughter in March, officials said, a decision that was announced Wednesday afternoon by State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert. Although the U.S. joined European countries in publicly blaming Moscow within days of the attack, the Trump administration had never issued the formal determination that triggers automatic sanctions...

A NEW Syria is emerging from the rubble of war. In Homs, which Syrians once dubbed the “capital of the revolution” against President Bashar al-Assad, the Muslim quarter and commercial district still lie in ruins, but the Christian quarter is reviving. Churches have been lavishly restored; a large crucifix hangs over the main street. “Groom of Heaven”, proclaims a billboard featuring a photo of a Christian soldier killed in the seven-year conflict. In their sermons, Orthodox patriarchs praise Mr Assad for saving one of the world’s oldest Christian communities.

We are now being told (and I assure you I am not making this up) that if the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons doesn’t find evidence that the Syrian government conducted a chemical weapons attack in Douma last week, it’s because Russia hid the evidence.“It is our understanding the Russians may have visited the attack site,” reports U.S. Ambassador Kenneth Ward. “It is our concern that they may have tampered with it with the intent of thwarting the efforts of the OPCW Fact-Finding Mission to conduct an effective investigation.”I guess the idea is that this international top-level investigative...

Donald Trump’s order last Friday to launch missile strikes against Syria’s chemical weapons infrastructure has exposed the divisions among Americans over foreign policy. Some Trump supporters think the President has walked back from his America-first nationalism. Globalists of both parties agree that Bashar al Assad needed to be punished for brutally violating international conventions against chemical weapons. And the rabid anti-Trump left views the attack as a “wag-the-dog” diversion from Trump’s legal troubles. So is there a legitimate reason for bombing Syria and possibly provoking Russian retaliation that risks dragging us deeper into the Middle East quagmire? Many Americans, sick...

One America News’ Pearson Sharp visited the war-torn town of Douma outside the capital of Damascus, looking for evidence of a chemical attack. However, residents there deny the claims of an attack, and say it was staged to help the rebels escape.

London, Jan 30 (ANI): The Obama administration gave green signal to a chemical weapons attack plan in Syria that could be blamed on President Bashar al Assad's regime and in turn, spur international military action in the devastated country, leaked documents have shown. A new report, that contains an email exchange between two senior officials at British-based contractor Britam Defence, showed a scheme 'approved by Washington'. As per the scheme 'Qatar would fund rebel forces in Syria to use chemical weapons,' the Daily Mail reports. Barack Obama made it clear to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad last month that the U.S....

“Will take no lessons…in international law from Russia.” Nikki Haley, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, delivered a blunt message at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council Saturday. The meeting was convened at Russia’s request to discuss military strikes conducted by the United States, the United Kingdom, and France against key facilities supporting the Syrian regime’s chemical weapons program. It was the fifth meeting of the Security Council last week regarding the reported chemical attack by the Syrian regime on the Damascus suburb of Douma on April 7th. All of the meetings were filled with hot rhetoric but...

The US Department of Justice will investigate claims that the Obama administration shielded the Lebanon-based Shi’ite terrorist group Hezbollah from criminal prosecution for its drug-trafficking and gun-running operations, as part of an effort to curry favor with Hezbollah’s patron, Iran. Last week, Politico released an investigative report citing Drug Enforcement Administration and former Treasury Department officials who claimed that the previous administration blocked the prosecution of Hezbollah officials known to be involved in the smuggling of illegal narcotics and weapons – including chemical weapons – in an effort to bring Hezbollah’s patron state, Iran, to the negotiating table. In 2015,...

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said Saturday that the United States is “locked and loaded” if the Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime uses chemical gas again in the country. Haley made the remarks at a fiery meeting of the U.N. Security Council, in which Russia and the U.S. traded barbs over the decision of the U.S., France and the United Kingdom to launch strikes in Syria on Friday in response to the alleged use of chemical weapons last week in Douma. While the Trump administration has said the strikes are now over, with Trump declaring: “Mission Accomplished!”...

WARNING! Today, the MO of France has published an interesting report on the subject of chemical weapons in Syria. The document is compiled on the basis of open information and declassified data of French intelligence services and dated April 14, 2018. The main point in the report is that the analysis of evidence of the use of chemical weapons in the city of Duma on April 7, 2018 shows the absence of traces of installation and forgery on the records. The analysis of the situation shows that, with a high degree of probability, chemical weapons against the civilian population were...

A Short History of Syria and its use of chemical weapons.The Leading from Behind Years: FORWARD. FROM BEHIND. h/t TOTUSAugust 20, 2012: Barack Obama warns Bashar al-Assad that the use of chemical or biological weapons in Syria is a "red line" that should not be crossed. “We have been very clear to the Assad regime, but also to other players on the ground, that a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized.” [ed. Remind me again why is he known as the most articulate president ever?]December 23, 2012:...

While horrible photos (link 18+) of people allegedly killed in the April 7 Douma attack rapidly became widely known after they had been released by the White Helments, there was something ignored by the media. Besides the photos of the dead bodies, Douma “media activists” also released videos showing two compressed gas cylinders, which had allegedly been used by “the Assad regime” to conduct the chemical attack on Douma. These videos raise some questions.... ------------snip---------- So, the questions: Why the cylinder#1 is undamaged if it has been dropped by a helicopter? Why the cylinder#1 is closed? Why the bed under...

A military source details to Zaman al-Wasl the staggering arsenal provided to the Syrian regime Russia Stores Prohibited Weapons in Dumayr Airport Near Damascus Russia has supplied the Syrian regime with highly advanced weapons and ammunition, including toxic gases, during its deadly offensive on the Eastern Ghouta suburbs, a military source told Zaman al-Wasl Sunday. The weapons, which had been stored in Al-Dumayr and Al-Seen military air bases, east of the capital, in March included toxic gases, cluster bombs, white phosphorous and incendiary bombs.

WASHINGTON -- President Trump responded Sunday to reports of a suspected chemical attack in the Syrian city of Douma, blaming Syrian President Bashar Assad and his international allies for the apparent attack that left dozens dead and hundreds injured. In some of his most critical comments directed at Russian President Vladimir Putin to date, Mr. Trump threatened that there's a "big price ... to pay" for those backing the Assad regime. Syrian opposition activists and rescuers said Sunday that a poison gas attack on the rebel-held town of Douma near the capital of Damascus killed at least 40 people. The...

"The US state department said it is monitoring the "very disturbing" reports, and that Russia - which is fighting alongside the Syrian government - should be held responsible if deadly chemicals had been used."