![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Douma_attack.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nA new Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) whistleblower has surfaced in response to a malicious and factually flawed attack by OPCW leadership on two veteran inspectors<\/strong><\/span><\/a> who challenged the official story of an alleged chemical attack by the Syrian government in Douma.<\/span><\/p>\n In a statement provided to The Grayzone, the new OPCW whistleblower described being \u201chorrified\u201d by the \u201cabhorrent \u2026 mistreatment\u201d of the inspectors. The new whistleblower also warned of a climate of intimidation designed to keep other staffers \u201cfrightened into silence.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The official is now the fourth OPCW whistleblower to air serious concerns about the chemical watch dog\u2019s Douma probe. The Grayzone has independently verified the official\u2019s identity and status with the OPCW, and granted them anonymity to protect them from potential retaliation.<\/span><\/p>\n Their full emailed statement can be seen here<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, and is transcribed at the conclusion of this article.<\/span><\/p>\n The first two whistleblowers \u2013 the inspectors \u2013 are veteran OPCW experts and team leaders who deployed to Syria in April 2018. A third staffer has dissented from the official version of events, but declined to make their views public out of fear that they and their family would be harmed.<\/span><\/p>\n The findings by the first two whistleblowing inspectors severely undermined allegations<\/strong><\/span><\/a> by Western nations and Syrian opposition groups that the Syrian government carried out a chemical attack in Douma.<\/span><\/p>\n However, OPCW leadership excluded their scientific work, re-wrote their initial report, and barred them from adding any further input to the investigation. The inspectors\u2019 evidence and the high-level campaign to bury it came to light through a series of leaks that began in May 2019. OPCW leadership has retaliated against the two by falsely portrayed them as rogue actors with only minor roles in the investigation and incomplete information.<\/span><\/p>\n The statement by the new OPCW whistleblower forcefully defends the inspectors and denounces the campaign by organization leadership to destroy their reputations.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe mistreatment of two highly regarded and accomplished professionals can only be described as abhorrent,\u201d the OPCW official wrote. \u201cI fully support their endeavours, in that it is for the greater good and not for personal gain or in the name of any political agenda. They are in fact trying to protect the integrity of the organisation which has been hijacked and brought into shameful disrepute.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n One of the two whistleblowing former inspectors has been identified publicly. He is Ian Henderson<\/span><\/strong><\/a>, a 12-year veteran of the organization and weapons expert. Henderson led on-the-ground inspections in Douma and conducted a detailed engineering stud<\/strong><\/span>y<\/a> of gas cylinders found at the scene. He concluded that the cylinders were likely \u201cmanually placed\u201d rather than being dropped by air \u2013 a finding that suggests the attack was staged on the ground by the militants who controlled Douma at the time.<\/span><\/p>\n The OPCW buried Henderson\u2019s study and released a final report<\/a> <\/strong><\/span>that echoed the version put forward by the US Department of State and British Foreign Ministry, strongly implying that the cylinders were dropped by the Syrian military.<\/span><\/p>\n The second inspector has not identified themself, and is known only as Inspector B. This person is a 16-year OPCW veteran who coordinated the OPCW team\u2019s scientific and technical activities in Douma and was the chief author of the main report \u2013 until OPCW leaders seized control of the investigation and rewrote its findings.<\/span><\/p>\n In remarks last month<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, OPCW Director-General General Fernando Arias dismissed the pair\u2019s scientific work as \u201cerroneous, uninformed, and wrong,\u201d and insisted that they \u201ccould not accept that their views were not backed by evidence.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n In letters published by The Grayzone<\/strong><\/span><\/a>, the inspectors rebutted Arias\u2019 claims and argued, in B\u2019s words, that they in fact \u201ccould never accept that a scientific investigation is not backed by science.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The new OPCW whistleblower stood by the inspectors. \u201cIt is quite unbelievable that valid scientific concerns are being brazenly ignored in favour of a predetermined narrative,\u201d they wrote. \u201cThe lack of transparency in an investigative process with such enormous ramifications is frightful.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The official went on to suggest that fear of retaliation is preventing more OPCW officials from coming forward. \u201cI am one of many who were stunned and frightened into silence by the reality how the organisation operates,\u201d the official wrote. \u201cThe threat of personal harm is not an illusion, or else many others would have spoken out by now.\u201d The official does not provide additional details.<\/span><\/p>\n Another OPCW veteran, who served in a senior role but no longer works at the organization, has also warned of severe threats to their security. In a letter published by The Grayzone<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, the former senior OPCW official expressed alarm about a cover-up of the Douma probe and of the intimidation of dissenting voices. The former official described their tenure at the OPCW as \u201cthe most stressful and unpleasant ones of my life,\u201d and voiced concern that \u201cthey will not hesitate to do harm to me and my family.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n In their rebuttal letter to Arias, Inspector B complained that Arias\u2019 public statements have left \u201cso many obvious clues, that anyone within the Organisation (and among many delegations) would have no doubt as to [the whistleblower\u2019s] identities. Such recklessness has created a serious safety concern.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
![here<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, and is transcribed at the conclusion of this article.<\/span><\/p>\nThe first two whistleblowers \u2013 the inspectors \u2013 are veteran OPCW experts and team leaders who deployed to Syria in April 2018. A third staffer has dissented from the official version of events, but declined to make their views public out of fear that they and their family would be harmed.<\/span><\/p>\nThe findings by the first two whistleblowing inspectors severely undermined allegations<\/strong><\/span><\/a> by Western nations and Syrian opposition groups that the Syrian government carried out a chemical attack in Douma.<\/span><\/p>\nHowever, OPCW leadership excluded their scientific work, re-wrote their initial report, and barred them from adding any further input to the investigation. The inspectors\u2019 evidence and the high-level campaign to bury it came to light through a series of leaks that began in May 2019. OPCW leadership has retaliated against the two by falsely portrayed them as rogue actors with only minor roles in the investigation and incomplete information.<\/span><\/p>\nThe statement by the new OPCW whistleblower forcefully defends the inspectors and denounces the campaign by organization leadership to destroy their reputations.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cThe mistreatment of two highly regarded and accomplished professionals can only be described as abhorrent,\u201d the OPCW official wrote. \u201cI fully support their endeavours, in that it is for the greater good and not for personal gain or in the name of any political agenda. They are in fact trying to protect the integrity of the organisation which has been hijacked and brought into shameful disrepute.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nOne of the two whistleblowing former inspectors has been identified publicly. He is Ian Henderson<\/span><\/strong><\/a>, a 12-year veteran of the organization and weapons expert. Henderson led on-the-ground inspections in Douma and conducted a detailed engineering stud<\/strong><\/span>y<\/a> of gas cylinders found at the scene. He concluded that the cylinders were likely \u201cmanually placed\u201d rather than being dropped by air \u2013 a finding that suggests the attack was staged on the ground by the militants who controlled Douma at the time.<\/span><\/p>\nThe OPCW buried Henderson\u2019s study and released a final report<\/a> <\/strong><\/span>that echoed the version put forward by the US Department of State and British Foreign Ministry, strongly implying that the cylinders were dropped by the Syrian military.<\/span><\/p>\nThe second inspector has not identified themself, and is known only as Inspector B. This person is a 16-year OPCW veteran who coordinated the OPCW team\u2019s scientific and technical activities in Douma and was the chief author of the main report \u2013 until OPCW leaders seized control of the investigation and rewrote its findings.<\/span><\/p>\nIn remarks last month<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, OPCW Director-General General Fernando Arias dismissed the pair\u2019s scientific work as \u201cerroneous, uninformed, and wrong,\u201d and insisted that they \u201ccould not accept that their views were not backed by evidence.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nIn letters published by The Grayzone<\/strong><\/span><\/a>, the inspectors rebutted Arias\u2019 claims and argued, in B\u2019s words, that they in fact \u201ccould never accept that a scientific investigation is not backed by science.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nThe new OPCW whistleblower stood by the inspectors. \u201cIt is quite unbelievable that valid scientific concerns are being brazenly ignored in favour of a predetermined narrative,\u201d they wrote. \u201cThe lack of transparency in an investigative process with such enormous ramifications is frightful.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nThe official went on to suggest that fear of retaliation is preventing more OPCW officials from coming forward. \u201cI am one of many who were stunned and frightened into silence by the reality how the organisation operates,\u201d the official wrote. \u201cThe threat of personal harm is not an illusion, or else many others would have spoken out by now.\u201d The official does not provide additional details.<\/span><\/p>\nAnother OPCW veteran, who served in a senior role but no longer works at the organization, has also warned of severe threats to their security. In a letter published by The Grayzone<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, the former senior OPCW official expressed alarm about a cover-up of the Douma probe and of the intimidation of dissenting voices. The former official described their tenure at the OPCW as \u201cthe most stressful and unpleasant ones of my life,\u201d and voiced concern that \u201cthey will not hesitate to do harm to me and my family.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nIn their rebuttal letter to Arias, Inspector B complained that Arias\u2019 public statements have left \u201cso many obvious clues, that anyone within the Organisation (and among many delegations) would have no doubt as to [the whistleblower\u2019s] identities. Such recklessness has created a serious safety concern.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nAccording to the inspectors, a delegation of US officials visited the OPCW<\/a><\/strong><\/span> to apply \u201cunacceptable pressure\u201d on the Douma team to place blame on the Syrian government for a chemical attack that might not have happened at all.<\/span><\/p>\nBoth Henderson and Inspector B have called on Arias to allow for a transparent, scientific hearing where all of the suppressed evidence and studies can be heard. In their statement, the new OPCW whistleblower echoed the inspectors\u2019 demand.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cThe lack of transparency in an investigative process with such enormous ramifications is frightful,\u201d the official wrote. \u201cThe allegations of the two gentlemen urgently need to be thoroughly investigated and the functionality of the organisation restored.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nFull text of statement on Douma scandal from new OPCW whistleblower<\/h3>\nAs an employee of the OPCW I was horrified and simultaneously unsurprised by recent events in the organisation. The mistreatment of two highly regarded and accomplished professionals can only be described as abhorrent. I fully support their endeavours, in that it is for the greater good and not for personal gain or in the name of any political agenda. They are in fact trying to protect the integrity of the organisation which has been hijacked and brought into shameful disrepute.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\nUnfortunately this is not a recent occurrence but a continuation of how the previous Director General and management group were operating. Working in the organisation has been an eye-opener and the cause of deep professional shame when I became aware of how a key element of the organisation was and clearly continues to be mismanaged. I am one of many who were stunned and frightened into silence by the reality how the organisation operates. The threat of personal harm is not an illusion, or else many others would have spoken out by now.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\nThere is still no mechanism at the organisation to enable the calling out of irregular behaviour to protect the integrity of the organisation. It is quite unbelievable that valid scientific concerns are being brazenly ignored in favour of a predetermined narrative. The lack of transparency in an investigative process with such enormous ramifications is frightful. The allegations of the two gentlemen urgently need to be thoroughly investigated and the functionality of the organisation restored.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\nSource<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A fourth insider has come out to expose the flawed OPCW investigation into the alleged Syrian government chemical weapons attack on Douma<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39262,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[90,83],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-203874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-al-ghouta-gas-attack","category-syria"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203874","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/39262"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=203874"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203874\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":203876,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203874\/revisions\/203876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=203874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=203874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=203874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}](\"https:\/\/thegrayzone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/OPCW-open-letter-email-Aaron-Mate.png\"){kind=link}