Syria January 22, 2020
OPCW investigator testifies at UN that no chemical attack took place in
Douma, Syria
In testimony before the United Nations Security Council, former OPCW
inspection team leader and engineering expert Ian Henderson stated that
their investigation in Douma, Syria suggested no chemical attack took place.
But their findings were suppressed.
By Ben Norton
Video and a transcript of former OPCW engineer and dissenter Ian Hendersons
UN testimony appears at the end of this report.
A former lead investigator from the Organization for the Prohibition of
Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has spoken out at the United Nations, stating in no
uncertain terms that the scientific evidence suggests there was no gas
attack in Douma, Syria in April 2018.
The dissenter, Ian Henderson, worked for 12 years at the international
watchdog organization, serving as an inspection team leader and engineering
expert. Among his most consequential jobs was assisting the international
bodys fact-finding mission (FFM) on the ground in Douma.
He told a UN Security Council session convened on January 20 by Russias
delegation that OPCW management had rejected his groups scientific
research, dismissed the team, and produced another report that totally
contradicted their initial findings.
We had serious misgivings that a chemical attack had occurred, Henderson
said, referring to the FFM team in Douma.
The former OPCW inspector added that he had compiled evidence through months
of research that provided further support for the view that there had not
been a chemical attack.
A former OPCW inspection team leader and engineering expert told the UN
Security Council that their investigation in Douma, Syria suggested no
chemical attack took place. But their findings were suppressed and reversed
Read more here: https://t.co/HI028MZl0k
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The Grayzone (@TheGrayzoneNews) January 22, 2020
Western airstrikes based on unsubstantiated allegations by foreign-backed
jihadists
Foreign-backed Islamist militants and the Western government-funded
regime-change influence operation known as the White Helmets accused the
Syrian government of dropping gas cylinders and killing dozens of people in
the city of Douma on April 7, 2018. Damascus rejected the accusation,
claiming the incident was staged by the insurgents.
At the time, Douma was controlled by the extremist Salafi-jihadist militia
Jaysh al-Islam, which was created and funded by Saudi Arabia and formerly
allied with Syrias powerful al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra.
The governments of the United States, Britain, and France responded to the
allegations of a chemical attack by launching airstrikes against the Syrian
government on April 14. The military assault was illegal under international
law, as the countries did not have UN authorization.
Numerous OPCW whistleblowers and leaks challenge Western government claims
In May 2019, an internal OPCW engineering assessment was leaked to the
public. The document, authored by Ian Henderson, said the dimensions,
characteristics and appearance of the cylinders in Douma were inconsistent
with what would have been expected in the case of either cylinder having
been delivered from an aircraft, adding that there is a higher probability
that both cylinders were manually placed at those two locations rather than
being delivered from aircraft.
After reviewing the leaked report, MIT professor emeritus of Science,
Technology and International Security Theodore Postol told The Grayzone,
The evidence is overwhelming that the gas attacks were staged. Postol also
accused OPCW leadership of overseeing compromised reporting and ignoring
scientific evidence.
In November, a second OPCW whistleblower came forward and accused the
organizations leadership of suppressing countervailing evidence, under
pressure by three US government officials.
WikiLeaks has published numerous internal emails from the OPCW that reveal
allegations that the bodys management staff doctored the Douma report.
As the evidence of internal suppression grew, the OPCWs first
director-general, José Bustani, decided to speak out. The convincing
evidence of irregular behavior in the OPCW investigation of the alleged
Douma chemical attack confirms doubts and suspicions I already had, Bustani
stated.
I could make no sense of what I was reading in the international press.
Even official reports of investigations seemed incoherent at best. The
picture is certainly clearer now, although very disturbing, the former OPCW
head concluded.
OPCW whistleblower testimony at UN Security Council meeting on Douma
