• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

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

Stay skeptical.

But after it happens, don't say that I didn't warn you.

I would not say that you did not warn me. No worries ;)

But for Kurdistan to happen, especially with Western support, would require backstabbing Turkiye as an ally. It cannot happen without Western support neither for Kurds would clash with Turks.

Come to think of it Kurds are probably the sole native people who benefit in all these wars. In Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Turkiye. This last one should probably be very difficult if projects of Kurdistan are out there. Hence I am skeptical.
 
I would not say that you did not warn me. No worries ;)

But for Kurdistan to happen, especially with Western support, would require backstabbing Turkiye as an ally. It cannot happen without Western support neither for Kurds would clash with Turks.

Come to think of it Kurds are probably the sole native people who benefit in all these wars. In Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Turkiye. This last one should probably be very difficult if projects of Kurdistan are out there.
Hence I am skeptical.




Stay skeptical.

Never buy into the bull**** that a lot of people think came down from the mountain on stone slabs from heaven.
 
Let's clear something up.. those who work in the intel community are not partisan.
They are lifers in that career. 27-year CIA veteran is not political and reaching briefer status is a status symbol (being a company man). Ray McGovern was critical on Iraq and critical on Syria for whatever reason. So political he and these he represents are not.

It's only those who are politically appointed who are partisan and are the ones who are brought out on tv for the public to listen to. The information collected and given to those who are politically appointed are tailored to the admins position. So real intel is white washed with a story to fit the narrative of the day. John Brennan is a political appointee and has been for years. He is biggest asshat in the world and most powerful person in the world. He tells the President what the "truth" is.




This is a total crock of bull****.

Everything that has any connection to politics is partisan.

And intelligence has a lot of connections to politics.

Give us a frickin' break here.

We didn't all just fall off of the turnip truck.
 
Last edited:
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."

The only issue with that scenario...
You gave both sides the information & warning, if one side wants to eliminate the other, all they have to do is plant chemical weapons where it looks like the other side did it and wait for the US to attack....oh wait, thats what seems to be happening now.
 
Let's clear something up.. those who work in the intel community are not partisan. They are lifers in that career. 27-year CIA veteran is not political and reaching briefer status is a status symbol (being a company man). Ray McGovern was critical on Iraq and critical on Syria for whatever reason. So political he and these he represents are not.

It's only those who are politically appointed who are partisan and are the ones who are brought out on tv for the public to listen to. The information collected and given to those who are politically appointed are tailored to the admins position. So real intel is white washed with a story to fit the narrative of the day. John Brennan is a political appointee and has been for years. He is biggest asshat in the world and most powerful person in the world. He tells the President what the "truth" is.

Do you have anything to support that Mother Goose Nursery Rhyme?

Having a clearance in the Navy is like having clearance to reading a newspaper. This guy had clearance that gave him access to all intel. He was giving White House briefings. That means it spanned everything. So he had clearance to everything. So he knows people who are still active and are hold top spots in those sections today.

All the bolded words are past tense. If people that are still active are giving him this type of info, then they should be arrested and charged with treason.
 
The title is misleading. These are former intelligence officials, with no access to intel and of questionable sanity.

Actually, there is already a good amount of information questioning whether or not it was the Assad regime that launched the attack, from sources such as the AP.
 
It has been nearly a year since Obama assured us that those responsible for Benghazi would be brought to justice. The only thing for sure about anything federal: it will be very complicated, it will be very slow and it will be very, very expensive. ;)



One more thing: If the Executive Branch is involved, it will also be dishonest and very, very partisan.
 
Actually, there is already a good amount of information questioning whether or not it was the Assad regime that launched the attack, from sources such as the AP.

Read the article more closely. It claims that perhaps Assad was not the one to order it because there is no evidence leading to him directly.

1. That's a stupid argument requiring impossible intel.
2. It doesn't matter if he personally authorized it. Losing control of his military to the point of them using WMDs without his order is unacceptable.
 
Actually, there is already a good amount of information questioning whether or not it was the Assad regime that launched the attack, from sources such as the AP.


True, and in the op it states that they are BOTH current and former intelligence officials
 
This is a total crock of bull****.

Everything that has any connection to politics is partisan.

And intelligence has a lot of connections to politics.

Give us a frickin' break here.

We didn't all just fall off of the turnip truck.

The analyst and collectors of Intel are apolitical, they spawn more then an admin and tend to be lifers. Like I said.. its those positions such as Director, Deputy Director.. these are short term posts basically given out of quid pro-quo. In the offices of these positions (Director and Deputy Director) are where intel is molded to fit a message.
 
Do you have anything to support that Mother Goose Nursery Rhyme?

How about the last decade of career intel officers, analyst and collectors who through two Presidents of not spilling the beans, does that work for you? People who leak that stuff are politically appointed positions.. or contractors.



All the bolded words are past tense. If people that are still active are giving him this type of info, then they should be arrested and charged with treason.

If your premise was correct, Richard Armitage and Robert Novak would have died in prison for leaking Valerie Plame's name. But your premise is not right. CIA is a small group, they are probably the most vetted people in the world. So they are highly trusted be it current employees or ex-employees.

But then again just cause you don't work for the CIA (an intel agency) officially anymore doesn't mean you aren't asked to help out once in a while and the requires keeping clearance.. Ray McGovern was the go to guy in the 1980s and early 1990s when it came to the Soviet Union (Russia) (and probably still is) . You don't think the CIA doesn't ask him once in a while what he thinks?
 
The analyst and collectors of Intel are apolitical, they spawn more then an admin and tend to be lifers. Like I said.. its those positions such as Director, Deputy Director.. these are short term posts basically given out of quid pro-quo. In the offices of these positions (Director and Deputy Director) are where intel is molded to fit a message.

edit: they spend more time then admin appointees in service and tend to be lifers.
 
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.

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."

You both make very good points of which I agree with 100%.

I do believe once again someone is manipulating the intelligence. I believe it's the only way to lure this country into yet another protracted war under false pretenses - to play on our collective fears of a rouge terror attack using a "dirty bomb" or some sort. The potential does exist considering we really don't know which side the Syrian rebel forces truly represent let alone who they are: Syrian citizens or insurgents from Iran? My guess is they make up the latter rather than the former.

Iran HAS been a thorn in America's side since the end of the Carter Administration and the beginning of the Regan Administration. Never more was that evident than throughout the Iraq War. After all, the majority of the IEDs used to kill American military personnel came from Iran or were made possible by the training and financing received from insurgents who filtered into Iraq from Iran. (The book, "The Gamble" by Thomas E. Ricks refers.) But I digress...

I agree with MaggieD. President Obama should have a sit-down with Assad and the leader of the rebel forces in Syria and ask them point-blank "Did you do this? What guarantee can you give to assure this doesn't happen again and what consequences are you willing to endure if it does?

The world is watching and how we handle this as a nation could have dire consequences.
 
You both make very good points of which I agree with 100%.

I do believe once again someone is manipulating the intelligence. I believe it's the only way to lure this country into yet another protracted war under false pretenses - to play on our collective fears of a rouge terror attack using a "dirty bomb" or some sort. The potential does exist considering we really don't know which side the Syrian rebel forces truly represent let alone who they are: Syrian citizens or insurgents from Iran? My guess is they make up the latter rather than the former.

Iran HAS been a thorn in America's side since the end of the Carter Administration and the beginning of the Regan Administration. Never more was that evident than throughout the Iraq War. After all, the majority of the IEDs used to kill American military personnel came from Iran or were made possible by the training and financing received from insurgents who filtered into Iraq from Iran. (The book, "The Gamble" by Thomas E. Ricks refers.) But I digress...

I agree with MaggieD. President Obama should have a sit-down with Assad and the leader of the rebel forces in Syria and ask them point-blank "Did you do this? What guarantee can you give to assure this doesn't happen again and what consequences are you willing to endure if it does?

The world is watching and how we handle this as a nation could have dire consequences.

I don't think a sit down would work. This Syria debacle is exactly like Libya. Now Quaddafi had become a pretty good guy. Good for Libyans. Good for Africans. No more terrorist support and he helped US Intelligence take down A. Q. Khan's nuke network (he is footloose in Pakistan and a National hero there.) and apparently some International OIL power network wanted more drilling in Libya. That would be the agenda that was promoted. Who's agenda is being promoted in Syrial? This issue has nothing to do with Chemical warfare and some group in this gov't of ours wants this war and it is being pushed by all the people who get monetary support from Energy and military industries. It's not about chemicals, it's an agenda to collect some resource or strategic infrastructure. Both reasons are bogus in my frame of mind, but that is the actual impetus behind the war drums.
 
I don't think a sit down would work. This Syria debacle is exactly like Libya. Now Quaddafi had become a pretty good guy. Good for Libyans. Good for Africans. No more terrorist support and he helped US Intelligence take down A. Q. Khan's nuke network (he is footloose in Pakistan and a National hero there.) and apparently some International OIL power network wanted more drilling in Libya. That would be the agenda that was promoted. Who's agenda is being promoted in Syrial? This issue has nothing to do with Chemical warfare and some group in this gov't of ours wants this war and it is being pushed by all the people who get monetary support from Energy and military industries. It's not about chemicals, it's an agenda to collect some resource or strategic infrastructure. Both reasons are bogus in my frame of mind, but that is the actual impetus behind the war drums.


Another accurate assessment Dave!
 
Heya SN :2wave: .....I think we should stay out and let it break up into the 3 regions it is. Then take things from there. ;)

You can't just keep breaking up the minority groups into smaller and smaller camps. Those animals need to learn to work together. Could you imagine if the U.S. just splintered off to form a new nation everytime a minority group had a hissy? We'd be split into more than just 50 states. Every county and parish in our country would be it's own separate nation.

Assad protects minority rights. He's the one we need to support. You want to know why the rebels rose up against him? Because he was preventing Christians and smaller muslim groups from being slaughtered and the rebels didn't like it. He prevented religion from dictating politics and the Islamic fighters want a theocracy.

Lastly who cares if he used chemical weapons on the opposition. We dropped a friggin nuclear bomb on Japan. We justify torture via with Orwellian newspeak and engage in "enhanced interrogation techniques". We hold people without trail for indefinite periods of time with no evidence presented at Guantanamo Bay.

If the KKK or Black Panthers or whatever fringe group rose up against the president I would support them being crushed with any means necessary. Assad doesn't have our sophisticated technology or weapons and so he used what he had, which was chemical weapons. IWhy the hell is it our business if he did?
 
You can't just keep breaking up the minority groups into smaller and smaller camps. Those animals need to learn to work together. Could you imagine if the U.S. just splintered off to form a new nation everytime a minority group had a hissy? We'd be split into more than just 50 states. Every county and parish in our country would be it's own separate nation.

Assad protects minority rights. He's the one we need to support. You want to know why the rebels rose up against him? Because he was preventing Christians and smaller muslim groups from being slaughtered and the rebels didn't like it. He prevented religion from dictating politics and the Islamic fighters want a theocracy.

Lastly who cares if he used chemical weapons on the opposition. We dropped a friggin nuclear bomb on Japan. We justify torture via with Orwellian newspeak and engage in "enhanced interrogation techniques". We hold people without trail for indefinite periods of time with no evidence presented at Guantanamo Bay.

If the KKK or Black Panthers or whatever fringe group rose up against the president I would support them being crushed with any means necessary. Assad doesn't have our sophisticated technology or weapons and so he used what he had, which was chemical weapons. IWhy the hell is it our business if he did?

Preach it brother!
 
Read the article more closely. It claims that perhaps Assad was not the one to order it because there is no evidence leading to him directly.

1. That's a stupid argument requiring impossible intel.
2. It doesn't matter if he personally authorized it. Losing control of his military to the point of them using WMDs without his order is unacceptable.

There are still unproven claims that the administration is making, regarding to this chemical weapons attack.

Top 10 Unproven Claims for War Against Syria | Dennis J. Kucinich

The fact of the matter is that there has yet to be conclusive evidence that the Assad regime used chemical weapons.
 
When a dictator slaughtering tens of thousands of civilians loses control of his WMDs, it's time for him to go.

I'm not going to argue that Assad is killing his own people. All I'm saying is that we don't have conclusive evidence that his guys used WMDs.
 
I'm not going to argue that Assad is killing his own people. All I'm saying is that we don't have conclusive evidence that his guys used WMDs.

Obama claims to have pics and other intel of Assad's chem officer getting the material from a known storage place, preparing the rockets, launching and conducting after action review.
 
Obama claims to have pics and other intel of Assad's chem officer getting the material from a known storage place, preparing the rockets, launching and conducting after action review.

"Claims" is the key word my dude.
 
Obama claims to have pics and other intel of Assad's chem officer getting the material from a known storage place, preparing the rockets, launching and conducting after action review.


Congressmen that have seen the classified "evidence" deny that and say they are less convinced then before.
 
Back
Top Bottom