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12 US intelligence officials tell Obama that Assad did not use chemical weapons

Montecresto

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By Ray McGovern, a 27-year CIA veteran, who chaired National Intelligence Estimates and personally delivered intelligence briefings to Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, their Vice Presidents, Secretaries of State, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and many other senior government officials

Editor Note: Despite the Obama administration’s supposedly “high confidence” regarding Syrian government guilt over the Aug. 21 chemical attack near Damascus, a dozen former U.S. military and intelligence officials are telling President Obama that they are picking up information that undercuts the Official Story.

MEMORANDUM FOR: The President

FROM: Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS)

SUBJECT: Is Syria a Trap?

Precedence: IMMEDIATE

We regret to inform you that some of our former co-workers are telling us, categorically, that contrary to the claims of your administration, the most reliable intelligence shows that Bashar al-Assad was NOT responsible for the chemical incident that killed and injured Syrian civilians on August 21, and that British intelligence officials also know this. In writing this brief report, we choose to assume that you have not been fully informed because your advisers decided to afford you the opportunity for what is commonly known as “plausible denial.”


http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2013/09/12-u-s-intelligence-officials-tell-obama-it-wasnt-assad.html
 
By Ray McGovern, a 27-year CIA veteran, who chaired National Intelligence Estimates and personally delivered intelligence briefings to Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, their Vice Presidents, Secretaries of State, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and many other senior government officials

Editor Note: Despite the Obama administration’s supposedly “high confidence” regarding Syrian government guilt over the Aug. 21 chemical attack near Damascus, a dozen former U.S. military and intelligence officials are telling President Obama that they are picking up information that undercuts the Official Story.

MEMORANDUM FOR: The President

FROM: Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS)

SUBJECT: Is Syria a Trap?

Precedence: IMMEDIATE

We regret to inform you that some of our former co-workers are telling us, categorically, that contrary to the claims of your administration, the most reliable intelligence shows that Bashar al-Assad was NOT responsible for the chemical incident that killed and injured Syrian civilians on August 21, and that British intelligence officials also know this. In writing this brief report, we choose to assume that you have not been fully informed because your advisers decided to afford you the opportunity for what is commonly known as “plausible denial.”


12 U.S. Intelligence Officials Tell Obama It Wasn’t Assad | Washington's Blog

At this point it's hard to say for certainty which side used the chemical weapons. I would also have to question just how much up to the minute info a (former) co-worker would have access to. And the way the GOP have been fighting everything Obama has done or tried to do, taking the word of those that worked for former Republican admins would be hard to do. With the Dems pointing fingers at the Reps, and the Reps pointing fingers at the Dems no one is to be beleaved. Personally I think we should let them fight it out among themselves and let Russia deal with it.
 
But Obama would never ever lie to us? How can this possibly be true? ;)

These folks likely would assert that Benghazi was not about protestig a movie either - they are the liars.
 
By Ray McGovern, a 27-year CIA veteran, who chaired National Intelligence Estimates and personally delivered intelligence briefings to Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, their Vice Presidents, Secretaries of State, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and many other senior government officials

Editor Note: Despite the Obama administration’s supposedly “high confidence” regarding Syrian government guilt over the Aug. 21 chemical attack near Damascus, a dozen former U.S. military and intelligence officials are telling President Obama that they are picking up information that undercuts the Official Story.

MEMORANDUM FOR: The President

FROM: Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS)

SUBJECT: Is Syria a Trap?

Precedence: IMMEDIATE

We regret to inform you that some of our former co-workers are telling us, categorically, that contrary to the claims of your administration, the most reliable intelligence shows that Bashar al-Assad was NOT responsible for the chemical incident that killed and injured Syrian civilians on August 21, and that British intelligence officials also know this. In writing this brief report, we choose to assume that you have not been fully informed because your advisers decided to afford you the opportunity for what is commonly known as “plausible denial.”


12 U.S. Intelligence Officials Tell Obama It Wasn’t Assad | Washington's Blog

That's a great article. Nothing that hasn't been stated clearly on this forum, but nice to see some sanity on a more public level. This war is clearly someone's agenda, but it is hard to define, other than to acknowledge the interests that profit monetarily from these misadventures. That would be the Military/Industrial/Corporate complex and promotion or marketing to enhance profits is SOP. Then again, one cannot ignore the first profits of war to the large Energy Corporations. Do these groups have disproportionate power? Does a cat have an ass? Gee, another big co inky dink, war on oily resource geography.
 
By Ray McGovern, a 27-year CIA veteran, who chaired National Intelligence Estimates and personally delivered intelligence briefings to Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, their Vice Presidents, Secretaries of State, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and many other senior government officials

Editor Note: Despite the Obama administration’s supposedly “high confidence” regarding Syrian government guilt over the Aug. 21 chemical attack near Damascus, a dozen former U.S. military and intelligence officials are telling President Obama that they are picking up information that undercuts the Official Story.

MEMORANDUM FOR: The President

FROM: Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS)

SUBJECT: Is Syria a Trap?

Precedence: IMMEDIATE

We regret to inform you that some of our former co-workers are telling us, categorically, that contrary to the claims of your administration, the most reliable intelligence shows that Bashar al-Assad was NOT responsible for the chemical incident that killed and injured Syrian civilians on August 21, and that British intelligence officials also know this. In writing this brief report, we choose to assume that you have not been fully informed because your advisers decided to afford you the opportunity for what is commonly known as “plausible denial.”


12 U.S. Intelligence Officials Tell Obama It Wasn’t Assad | Washington's Blog

Don't know what's true and what's not anymore. With any supposed intelligence coming from the White House. Under ANY president.

To think we are either entitled to, or know, "the rest of the story," is arrogant and stupid almost beyond belief.

But here's what I think: We've GOT to change what we're doing overall. It's not working. We are simply reacting. And, in this case, reacting in the worst possible way. Upping the ante, so to speak. It's not WORKING!!

If I were President of the United States, I would want a sit-down with Syria's leadership. I would ask him to his face if his government was responsible for chemical attacks. If he said no, which I would expect him to do, I would ask him how he can guarantee it will never happen again. Or, if it does, what he thinks the world should do about it. Because it is UNACCEPTABLE.

Then I would want a sit-down with rebel leadership and ask the same exact thing.

Eye-to-eye, man-to-man. One last ditch effort to make sure it never happens again. "We are watching you. If it happens again? We will ask not one more question. We will act on our intelligence and carpet bombing of either side is a foregone conclusion."
 
At this point it's hard to say for certainty which side used the chemical weapons. I would also have to question just how much up to the minute info a (former) co-worker would have access to. And the way the GOP have been fighting everything Obama has done or tried to do, taking the word of those that worked for former Republican admins would be hard to do. With the Dems pointing fingers at the Reps, and the Reps pointing fingers at the Dems no one is to be beleaved. Personally I think we should let them fight it out among themselves and let Russia deal with it.


Well that is precisely what russia wants. As to these retired men having up to the minute info, probably not, but certainly more than you and I. Also, they join a growing crowd from both sides of the isle saying the same thing. Do you think there are only republicans expressing this? Also 20-30 year veterans who still have friends on the inside are still quite connected, not totally, as I'm sure there's lots of classified materials that their buddies on the inside aren't specifically disclosing.
 
You do know Ray McGovern is "famous" for his "MEMORANDUMS FOR: The President"?

He also thinks Julie Assange and Bradley Manning are heroes and that consensus seems to be emerging among the intelligence and military agencies of the United States – and Israel – that Iran has not made a decision to build a nuclear weapon but the US will "remain focusing on Iran, which they view as the only remaining obstacle to American domination of the entire, oil-rich Middle East.”

Check out his website. You can read all of his memorandums there. He also writes "MEMORANDUMS FOR: Confused Americans"

Ray McGovern's blog | War Is A Crime .org
 
It's not just about McGovern.

For "VIPs (Very Important Persons)", see Very Important Person.
Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) is a group of current and former officials of the United States Intelligence Community, including some from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the U.S. State Department's Intelligence Bureau (INR), and the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). It was formed in January 2003 as a "coast-to-coast enterprise" to protest the use of faulty intelligence "upon which the US/UK invasion of Iraq was based."[1][2][3] The group issued a letter before the 2003 invasion of Iraq stating that intelligence analysts were not being listened to by policy makers. In August 2010 it issued a memorandum to the White House warning of an imminent Israeli attack on Iran.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veteran_Intelligence_Professionals_for_Sanity
 
TAMPA, September 6, 2013 — Public opinion polls are virtually unanimous: The American people oppose military intervention in Syria, despite poll questions worded to reinforce the assumption that the Syrian government launched chemical weapons attacks against its own people.

The question is phrased to elicit the most favorable response. Nevertheless, those polled were resoundingly against military intervention: 59 percent said they opposed missile strikes. Thirty-six percent said they favored them, while 5 percent were undecided.
Results like that in a poll constructed to achieve the opposite beg the question: Does anyone really believe the Assad government launched chemical weapons attacks against rebels and civilians?


Read more: Does anyone really believe Assad used chemical weapons in Syria? | Washington Times Communities
Follow us: @wtcommunities on Twitter
 
Ray McGovern tells it like it is, and he has the street cred to make statements like this. I applaud him! :2wave:
 
Well that is precisely what russia wants. As to these retired men having up to the minute info, probably not, but certainly more than you and I. Also, they join a growing crowd from both sides of the isle saying the same thing. Do you think there are only republicans expressing this? Also 20-30 year veterans who still have friends on the inside are still quite connected, not totally, as I'm sure there's lots of classified materials that their buddies on the inside aren't specifically disclosing.

That's the point. Making statements of fact without all the info is in my opinion, silly. I tend to ignore people such as this.

I retired from the U.S.Navy in 1996, up until about 3 years ago I had some good friends that were still in. We would talk every now and then, talk about the changes going on and about missions they had been on. But as a former sailor there were things that I didn't have the need nor clearance to know. Same with this guy.
 
That's the point. Making statements of fact without all the info is in my opinion, silly. I tend to ignore people such as this.

I retired from the U.S.Navy in 1996, up until about 3 years ago I had some good friends that were still in. We would talk every now and then, talk about the changes going on and about missions they had been on. But as a former sailor there were things that I didn't have the need nor clearance to know. Same with this guy.

The point being that there are more people that agree with them than you. Including the majority of Americans that aren't buying it, nor should they. There simply is no logic (oh and how many times does it have to be mentioned, no evidence) that president Assad used chemical weapons on his civilians.
 
There simply is no logic (oh and how many times does it have to be mentioned, no evidence) that president Assad used chemical weapons on his civilians.
As of today, the EU now disagrees with the 'illogical' argument...

EU blames Assad for chemical attack in nuanced message | Reuters
Sat Sep 7, 2013

The European Union on Saturday laid the blame for an August chemical attack in Syria on the government of President Bashar al-Assad, but stopped short of explicitly supporting a military response by the West. The carefully worded message from foreign ministers of 28 EU governments meeting in Vilnius allowed France to claim victory in its push to get the EU to agree that Assad was responsible for the attack in which more than 1,400 may have been killed. But it also made clear that the bloc wanted the United Nations to have a role in agreeing an international response, reflecting the position of countries including Germany which oppose taking action before a team of U.N. inspectors can present its findings on the incident. After the EU agreement, Germany said it would sign a statement supported by 11 nations at the Group of Twenty summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Friday that backed a "strong" response to the alleged use of sarin gas against civilians. Germany said it did not sign on Friday because it wanted to see an EU consensus on the issue first.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said the ministers meeting in the Lithuanian capital had agreed that information from a wide variety of sources "seems to indicate strong evidence" of the Syrian government's responsibility. The ministers agreed that the world "cannot remain idle" and said a clear and strong response was needed to prevent any future use of chemical weapons in Syria, she said. They made no direct mention of any military action, contemplated by the United States and France however.
 
"SEEMS to indicate strong evidence" is weak language coming out of that body. I see Kerry was over there twisting arms.
 
By Ray McGovern, a 27-year CIA veteran, who chaired National Intelligence Estimates and personally delivered intelligence briefings to Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, their Vice Presidents, Secretaries of State, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and many other senior government officials

Editor Note: Despite the Obama administration’s supposedly “high confidence” regarding Syrian government guilt over the Aug. 21 chemical attack near Damascus, a dozen former U.S. military and intelligence officials are telling President Obama that they are picking up information that undercuts the Official Story.

MEMORANDUM FOR: The President

FROM: Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS)

SUBJECT: Is Syria a Trap?

Precedence: IMMEDIATE

We regret to inform you that some of our former co-workers are telling us, categorically, that contrary to the claims of your administration, the most reliable intelligence shows that Bashar al-Assad was NOT responsible for the chemical incident that killed and injured Syrian civilians on August 21, and that British intelligence officials also know this. In writing this brief report, we choose to assume that you have not been fully informed because your advisers decided to afford you the opportunity for what is commonly known as “plausible denial.”


http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2013/09/12-u-s-intelligence-officials-tell-obama-it-wasnt-assad.html

What do you mean!? The government could possibly be misinterpretting data so that they can do what they want? But others on this board have claimed that it's incontrovertible! The government said it and thus it must be true and now we gots to bomb him!
 
That's a great article. Nothing that hasn't been stated clearly on this forum, but nice to see some sanity on a more public level. This war is clearly someone's agenda, but it is hard to define, other than to acknowledge the interests that profit monetarily from these misadventures. That would be the Military/Industrial/Corporate complex and promotion or marketing to enhance profits is SOP. Then again, one cannot ignore the first profits of war to the large Energy Corporations. Do these groups have disproportionate power? Does a cat have an ass? Gee, another big co inky dink, war on oily resource geography.

Well I think Monte, you, and I have been stating things clearly. Just to name a few. Many others have come out questioning Team Obama and the Neo Cons play.
 
Don't know what's true and what's not anymore. With any supposed intelligence coming from the White House. Under ANY president.

To think we are either entitled to, or know, "the rest of the story," is arrogant and stupid almost beyond belief.

But here's what I think: We've GOT to change what we're doing overall. It's not working. We are simply reacting. And, in this case, reacting in the worst possible way. Upping the ante, so to speak. It's not WORKING!!

If I were President of the United States, I would want a sit-down with Syria's leadership. I would ask him to his face if his government was responsible for chemical attacks. If he said no, which I would expect him to do, I would ask him how he can guarantee it will never happen again. Or, if it does, what he thinks the world should do about it. Because it is UNACCEPTABLE.

Then I would want a sit-down with rebel leadership and ask the same exact thing.

Eye-to-eye, man-to-man. One last ditch effort to make sure it never happens again. "We are watching you. If it happens again? We will ask not one more question. We will act on our intelligence and carpet bombing of either side is a foregone conclusion."

Nothing like looking one in the eyes Maggie.....huh? Ole School Chicago Common Sense. Face to face!!!!! ;)

But Obama and France know.....Assad didn't order the Attacks. So truthfully on that aspect they can't say that he did.
 
There is still a lot of questioning as to if Assad launched the weapons:

"With the United States threatening to attack Syria, U.S. and allied intelligence services are still trying to work out who ordered the poison gas attack on rebel-held neighborhoods near Damascus.

No direct link to President Bashar al-Assad or his inner circle has been publicly demonstrated, and some U.S. sources say intelligence experts are not sure whether the Syrian leader knew of the attack before it was launched or was only informed about it afterward." (Direct link between Assad and gas attack elusive for U.S.)


"U.S. intelligence officials are not so certain that the suspected chemical attack was carried out on Assad’s orders, or even completely sure it was carried out by government forces, the officials said." (News from The Associated Press)

More can be found here: http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2013...government-didnt-launch-chemical-weapons.html
 
The point being that there are more people that agree with them than you. Including the majority of Americans that aren't buying it, nor should they. There simply is no logic (oh and how many times does it have to be mentioned, no evidence) that president Assad used chemical weapons on his civilians.

Having not seen the evidence myself I would say there's a 50/50 chance that one side or the other used these chemicals. Which side has yet to be determined. I just find it hard to believe someones blog. Most people with blogs have an agenda, I chose to make my own decisions based on facts, not what someone's blog tells me to believe.
 
"SEEMS to indicate strong evidence" is weak language coming out of that body.
On the contrary, this is strong language from the normally sedate EU.
 
Having not seen the evidence myself I would say there's a 50/50 chance that one side or the other used these chemicals. Which side has yet to be determined. I just find it hard to believe someones blog. Most people with blogs have an agenda, I chose to make my own decisions based on facts, not what someone's blog tells me to believe.

That is true, but the difference is that people with blogs are quite open about their biases rather than many in the MSM which claim 'journalistic objectivity' which is a myth. (The Corbett Report | Episode 265 – The Myth of Journalistic Objectivity)
 
The point being that there are more people that agree with them than you. Including the majority of Americans that aren't buying it, nor should they. There simply is no logic (oh and how many times does it have to be mentioned, no evidence) that president Assad used chemical weapons on his civilians.

There's no logic in the rebs gassing civilians, either.

There's no credibility to the notions so far presented suggesting that there's no way that Assad wouldn't use chemical weapons. Sure, he might be winning the war, but the war isn't over, therefore, he hasn't won it. Bringing the war to a quicker and more decisive end makes perfect sense.
 
"SEEMS to indicate strong evidence" is weak language coming out of that body. I see Kerry was over there twisting arms.

Yeah he was.....also Germany joined in as the 11th of the G20 to back our play.

European urge US to await UN report on Syria
Associated Press – 18 mins ago

17ab3bc12f32b31e3c0f6a706700a271.jpg


European foreign ministers on Saturday endorsed a "clear and strong response" to a chemical weapons attack that strongly points to the Syrian government, but they urged the U.S. to delay possible military action until U.N. inspectors report their findings.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, trying to make the Obama administration's case for a strike, thanked the European Union for a "strong statement about the need for accountability."

Kerry said he would share his counterparts' concern with U.S. officials. A senior State Department official who attended Kerry's meeting with the ministers in Lithuania said Kerry made clear that the U.S. has not made any decision to wait.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose details about the private meeting.

Later, at a news conference in Paris with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, Kerry said "this is not the time to be silent spectators to slaughter" and that "this is not the time to allow a dictator unfettered use of some of the heinous weapons on earth."

Fabius said that "punishment is not at odds with a political solution. ... Bashar Assad will not participate in any negotiation as long as he sees himself as invincible.".....snip~

European urge US to await UN report on Syria
 
Just because you see it on TV or read it on the internet or hear it on the radio don't make it true.

Of course, but that was not my point.
 
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