The message could hardly be clearer: According to U.S. intelligence, Syrian government could very well be preparing to use chemical weapons to put down the long and bloody rebellion against ruler Bashar al-Assad. That was the signal from the TV networks and other major media. Should anyone believe they’re right?
“Chemicals so deadly one drop can kill within minutes,” explained ABC World News anchor Diane Sawyer (12/3/12), adding that one question on the table was “whether it means the U.S. may be forced to take action.” Correspondent Martha Raddatz explained:
The latest intelligence is alarming. Officials telling ABC News the U.S. is now seeing specific signs that the Syrian regime may be preparing to use the chemical Sarin against opposition forces.
On CBS Evening News (12/3/12), anchor Scott Pelley explained:
Assad has not used his chemical weapons, including nerve gas, but the possibility that he might threatens to pull the United States into that Middle East conflict.
Pelley added that Pentagon correspondent David Martin “has been talking to his sources,” and indeed he had. Martin explained:
This is a commercial satellite photo of a Syrian chemical weapons base. U.S. monitoring of roughly two dozen bases like this indicates the Assad regime has begun preparing its chemical weapons for use. Orders have been issued to bring together chemical ingredients, which are normally stored separately for safety, but when combined form the deadly nerve agent Sarin.
On the NBC Nightly News (12/5/12), anchor Brian Williams led the newscast:
Chemical weapons in Syria. Suddenly, the world has an urgent situation on its hands. The fear is Syria is preparing to use them against its own people.
NBC Pentagon correspondent Jim Miklaszewski went on:
U.S. officials tell us that the Syrian military is poised tonight to use chemical weapons against its own people. And all it would take is the final order from Syrian President Assad.
He added that “this week, U.S. intelligence detected a flurry of activity at chemical weapons sites…the alarming developments shook the world.”
And on last night’s CBS Evening News (12/6/12), David Martin reported:
Monitoring of Syrian bases like this one has picked up evidence engineers have loaded the chemicals, which combine to form the deadly nerve agent sarin, into bombs that could be dropped from airplanes. Satellites have seen trucks moving among the bunkers where the weapons and agents are believed to be stored. U.S. officials say the evidence is strong but circumstantial, not definitive.
So where did all of this new information come from? Anonymous government officials talking to outlets like the New York Times.
On December 2, Michael Gordon and several others reported in the Times that
Western intelligence officials say they are picking up new signs of activity at sites in Syria that are used to store chemical weapons. The officials are uncertain whether Syrian forces might be preparing to use the weapons in a last-ditch effort to save the government, or simply sending a warning to the West about the implications of providing more help to the Syrian rebels.
“It’s in some ways similar to what they’ve done before,” a senior American official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters. “But they’re doing some things that suggest they intend to use the weapons. It’s not just moving stuff around. These are different kind of activities.”
That somewhat sketchy take was reiterated the next day in the Times (12/3/12), where readers learned that “what exactly the Syrian forces intend to do with the weapons remains murky, according to officials who have seen the intelligence from Syria.” By December 4, the Times was reporting on Obama’s explicit warning to Syria:
The White House said it had an “increased concern” that the government of President Bashar al-Assad was preparing to use such weapons, effectively confirming earlier reports of activity at chemical weapons sites.
Absent any further details, that would seem to be a strange standard for confirmation: U.S. officials make anonymous claims, and then different officials say on the record that they are concerned about what those anonymous sources are claiming. But the Times aren’t the only ones exercising that kind of judgment; NBC‘s Miklaszewski (12/5/12) reported, “Today, while U.S. officials confirm the precursor chemicals are loaded, they must still be mixed together to create the deadly gas.”
Of course, it is highly unlikely that U.S. officials can “confirm” any such thing.
But the theatrics–satellite images, anonymous sources speaking about weapons of mass destruction and so on–are obviously reminiscent of the lead up to the Iraq War. NBC Nightly News was at least aware of this fact; anchor Brian Williams said this to correspondent Andrea Mitchell:
Andrea, here we go again. The American public, not anxious to hear about any U.S. military involvement anywhere else on the planet, using terms like “weapons of mass destruction,” “chemical weapons.” What is the U.S. to do?
Mitchell acknowledged that “you’ve got a real credibility gap that goes back now more than a decade”–evidently referring to U.S. misinformation on Iraq that led to an invasion and a bloody war.
But she seemed to be stressing that this time it’s different:
But the specific intelligence that Miklaszewski just reported, the movement of Syria’s chemical stockpile, explains exactly why the president and Hillary Clinton warned Bashar al-Assad so forcefully this week not to use the weapons.
But is it really? U.S. officials were confident about a number of things before the invasion of Iraq—most of which were not true. The Syria stories in fact most closely resemble stories in 2003 that alleged that Saddam Hussein had established a “red line” around Baghdad: If U.S. troops were to cross that line, Iraq would deploy chemical weapons.
In fact, some of the same reporters were saying those things then. Jim Miklaszewski told Today show viewers on March 25, 2003:
Top military and intelligence officials tell NBC News that based on information that they’ve received from the Iraqis, the Republican Guards have been instructed that once American ground troops cross a theoretical line, sort of a red line drawn around that southern edge of Baghdad, they have the green light then to release chemical weapons.
And on CBS Evening News (3/24/03), David Martin reported:
U.S. officials say the Iraqis have drawn a red line on the map around Baghdad and once American troops cross it, the Republican Guards are authorized to use chemical weapons.
It is, of course, entirely possible that these fears are very real, and that Syria could be planning a horrific attack in the midst of what is already a horrible situation there. But U.S. officials were pretty confident that they knew what they were talking about last time.
It is urgent that sane people of the world unite to express the urgency
of world peace,As an intelligent species it is time to move from war and destruction to the level of humanity we have attained.The reasons for war are the ramblings of madmen.Before the annihilation
of mankind occurs it is imperative that we say enough with DEATH
This would seem to be a win/win for US propaganda.
If the weapons are used, it validates their “analysis”, regardless of its veracity.
If they aren’t, then the claim can be made that the warnings to Syria based on that intel prevented their use.
Either way, the corpress will dutifully echo the desired narrative, won’t they?
Is Dick Cheney still stove-piping false information to the Corporate Info-masters of America? (That would be the CIA.) If so, the heart donor’s family should be asking for their loved one’s heart back.
If not, then Obama’s bi-partisan cooperation with the Republicans has hit a new low.
Lucy is once again teeing up the “no option but war” football for all the Charlie Browns living in the United States of Amnesia.
There was so many Weasel Words coming from the Corporate Media that they might as well just build some hen houses and be done with it.
this is bull and posturing to get us into another war with even more taxpayer $$$ spent enriching the war industry and putting even more of our depleted and burned out troops in harm’s way.
BBC World AmericaTV news, an odd name, has been trying to get us into Syria for months. Then they’ll criticize US for being there. Katty Kay: “Do you think this will get an American response?”
These corporate press whores used up their measure of credibility a long time ago. I wouldn’t believe a god damned thing any of them said. There isn’t any depth these propagandists wouldn’t dive to in order to spread their bullshit. They have no shame or believability any longer.
The difference between NBC Pentagon correspondent, Jim Miklaszewski, patriotically releasing vaguely attributed Syria WMD scare info and Bradley Manning, accused of aiding the enemy by giving classified information to WikiLeaks, is that the administration likes Mik’s leaks. Course’ Mik didn’t tell the Syrians anything they didn’t already know … maybe just added a little….
Remember Iraq & WMD? Let’s not rush to judgment. Too many false flag operations in US History.
So the Israelis use depleted uranium on their shell tips in Gaza and we the same in Fallujah, while we and Israel use white phosphorous at will. Our boys came back from Vietnam and Kuwait with mysterious illnesses that eventually linked to the US use of napalm or other chemical agents of modern war. We targeted civilians at Hiroshima and Nagasaki and melted the flesh of tens of thousands. And now, we in the USA have the gall to hand ultimatums to Syria? Even Hitler didn’t use chemical weapons to defeat D-Day, though we used chemical weapons like napalm against the Germans, and then the Japanese. Then, we hosted the trials at Nuremberg. Our chemical weapons have killed and disabled more people than have the use of such weapons by all the rest of the world combined.
NDAA – Patriot Act – Torture – Surveillance – ETC ETC ETC
It’s been obvious for quite some time that the guns are pointed in the wrong direction. We need to be protected from the corporate state, and we should be doing everything we can to protect the innocent civilians the US torments and murders every fucking day.
The goal of the US imperialists is to dominate the Middle East, Central Asia, as well as South Asia for geopolitical gain and war profiteering. Iran, Syria, Palestine, and Lebanon are the only entities in the way of total US/Israeli hegemony. These bullies will not rest until the above are also subdued or bombed further back into Stone Age (as in the case of Iraq). Everything else: Al Qaeda, WMD, terrorism, democracy, women’s rights, etc. is just a pretext.
The US media are owned by the same interests (i.e. corporations) that also own our politicians who do their bidding. They will not only refrain from telling us the truth about all the puppet regimes and dictatorships propped up and/or kept in power by the US in the region, but also actually obfuscate the truth.
So to expect news from the 0.1% press is analogous to going to a hardware store and asking for lipstick!
Actually modern world is full of lies as the west thinks they can afford every thing.
More of the same, hurry and worry that Assad is gonna use chemical weapons against people trying to overthrow him. All three networks and the crazies at FOX and the crazies at MSNBC are on the War Party bandwagon to kill some more brown people.
This country has asserted the right to kill its own citizens and has actually done it and we just reelected the guy who did it and we’re celebrating about that. Does this country have any moral right to say Assad is worse than we are?
Let me see if I got this straight. The same lying cadre of corporatist propagandists says, “Stop… this could be different”? As if! These douche bags lied to us repeatedly in the run up to Iraq and now they’re doing exactly the same thing. Different? Not one damn thing. And think about it seriously. Would Assad use weapons of this sort on his own people? It’s already been shown that car bombs and other terror tactics have been used by the so-called “freedom fighters” who are by and large foreign mercenaries and jihadists imported into the country.
On TV you could watch the US drop Phosphorus on Baghdad, and learn of it used on Fallujah, in our last war on Iraq. But to the hypocritical US, it’s only a crime if others do it.
Suprised that this, otherwise informed, readership chose not to make mention of the Knights of Malta connection.
oops wrong story sorry. i was refering to the eric prince feature
What do we have to do to keep our leaders from going to war? The failure of previous wars, and the financial meltdown — aided by paying for wars on credit — don’t seem to have taught them anyting. Maybe that’s the wrong question. These are smart people. The problem seems to be that the mainstream media is owned by a handful of corporations, and a handful of corporations make billions on weapons sales — and have the lobbyists to keep it that way. Elections seem to have less and less to do with the direction of our nation. Other countries in Europe and the Middle East are taking to the streets.
I don’t trust anything my government says. Their job is to keep the citizens ignorant and misinformed so the elite can continue to keep us under control, attempt to gain control of the worlds oil and natural gas supply, and keep all US citizens in debt to them.
This is the subject of our flyer for the Living Graveyard demonstration in Oakland, noon, Monday Dec 17 at the Oakland Federal Building, 1301 Clay. We quote from Charles Glass on Democracy Now, Dec 12.
Do join us for this legal but effective witness. see http://www.epicalc.org for pictures of past Living Graveyards.
OH! for Krissakes!!! this is the same defecation the Bush Bastards tried to feed and succeeded, to the american stumps. these people, ALL OF THEM, ARE OUTED VETTED LIARS!!!!!