{"id":176101,"date":"2018-09-10T06:22:35","date_gmt":"2018-09-10T06:22:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=176101"},"modified":"2018-09-14T05:14:36","modified_gmt":"2018-09-14T05:14:36","slug":"us-says-assad-has-approved-gas-attack-in-idlib-setting-stage-for-major-military-conflict","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=176101","title":{"rendered":"US Says Assad Has Approved Gas Attack In Idlib, Setting Stage For Major Military Conflict"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tyler Durden — Zero Hedge Sept 9, 2018<\/h1>\n
\"US<\/a>

US cruise missile launched at the al Shayrat air base near Homs in Syria. Click to enlarge<\/p><\/div>\n

At this point, there’s not even so much as feigning surprise or suspense in the now sadly all-too-familiar Syria script out of Washington.<\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0Wall Street Journal <\/em>has just published a bombshell on Sunday evening as Russian and Syrian warplanes continue bombing raids\u00a0over al-Qaeda held Idlib, citing unnamed US officials who claim<\/a><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0“President Bashar al-Assad of Syria has approved the use of chlorine gas in an offensive against the country\u2019s last major rebel stronghold.”<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

And perhaps more alarming is that the report details that\u00a0Trump is\u00a0undecided over whether new retaliatory strikes\u00a0<\/strong>could entail expanding the attack to hit\u00a0Assad allies Russia and Iran<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0this time around<\/em><\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

That’s right, unnamed US officials are now claiming to be in possession of intelligence which they say shows\u00a0Assad has already given the order\u00a0<\/em>in an absolutely unprecedented level of “pre-crime” telegraphing of events on the battlefield<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

And supposedly these officials have even identified the type of chemical weapon to be used: <\/strong>chlorine gas<\/strong><\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The anonymous officials told the WSJ of “new U.S. intelligence” in what appears an eerily familiar repeat of precisely\u00a0how the 2003 invasion of Iraq was sold to the American public\u00a0<\/strong>(namely, “anonymous officials” and vague assurances of unseen intelligence)\u00a0\u2014<\/em>\u00a0albeit posturing over Idlib is now unfolding at an intensely more rapid pace<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/em>:<\/span><\/p>\n

Fears of a massacre have been fueled by new U.S. intelligence indicating Mr. Assad has cleared the way for the military to use chlorine gas in any offensive, U.S. officials said<\/strong>. It wasn\u2019t clear from the latest intelligence if Mr Assad also had given the military permission to use sarin gas<\/strong>, the deadly nerve agent used several times in previous regime attacks on rebel-held areas. It is banned under international law.<\/span><\/p>\n

It appears Washington is now saying an American attack on Syrian government forces and locations is all but inevitable<\/em><\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

And according to the report, President Trump may actually give the order to attack even if there’s no claim of a chemical attack, per the WSJ:<\/span><\/p>\n

In a recent discussion about Syria, people familiar with the exchange said, President Trump threatened to conduct a massive attack against Mr. Assad if he carries out a massacre in Idlib<\/strong>, the northwestern province that has become the last refuge for more than three million people and as many as 70,000 opposition fighters that the regime considers to be terrorists.<\/span><\/p>\n

And further<\/a><\/strong><\/span>:<\/span><\/p>\n

The Pentagon is crafting military options<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, but Mr. Trump hasn\u2019t decided what exactly would trigger a military response or whether the U.S. would target Russian or Iranian military forces aiding Mr. Assad in Syria<\/strong>, U.S. officials said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Crucially, this is the first such indication of the possibility that White House and defense officials are mulling over hitting “Russian or Iranian military forces” in what would be a monumental escalation that would take the world to the brink of World War 3.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

"Lots of evidence"
Trump regime not even trying, they're just phoning this disinformation campaign in pic.twitter.com\/YD9MtXK97c<\/a><\/p>\n

— Mark Ames (@MarkAmesExiled) September 7, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n