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Syria Chemical Weapons Death Toll Cited By Obama Administration May Be Inflated.....
One of the most precise and dramatic details cited by the Obama administration as proof that Syrian forces used chemical weapons in an Aug. 21 attack was the death toll, which an official U.S. government assessment put at 1,429 people, including 426 children.
The number, first released by the White House on Aug. 30, was underscored by Secretary of State John Kerry in a fiery indictment of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, describing videos of what he said were victims of the attack, which Syria denies.
The United States Government now knows that at least 1,429 Syrians were killed in this attack, including at least 426 children," he said.
Some U.S. congressional sources are now casting doubt on those figures.
Three congressional sources told Reuters that administration officials had indicated in private that some deaths might have been caused by the conventional bombing that followed the release of sarin gas in suburban Damascus neighborhoods. This disclosure undermined support for President Barack Obama's plan to strike Syria, they said.
A White House spokeswoman referred all questions about the death toll numbers - including a request for comment on whether controversy about the numbers was undermining support on Capitol Hill for administration policy - to intelligence agency spokespeople.
"The Intelligence Community has a high bar for its assessments but it is virtually impossible to achieve 100 percent certitude," said Shawn Turner, chief spokesman for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. "That's not the way intelligence works.
Administration sources told Reuters that they relied on a valid intelligence methodology to make the death estimate. An official said that it involved analyzing video pictures of victims, then eliminating from the fatality total any live person, any dead body with visible injuries and shrouded bodies showing blood spots.
Classified intelligence tools then were used to confirm the provenance of the videos and to ensure that bodies were not counted twice, the official said. The official noted that U.S. intelligence had more resources to gather information than human rights or other non-governmental groups, which had smaller death tolls.
The congressional sources said that some members of Congress asked to see raw intelligence gathered by U.S. agencies. But thus far, the administration has provided only reports summarizing intelligence from human informants, electronic eavesdropping and satellite images.....snip~
Syria Chemical Weapons Death Toll Cited By Obama Administration May Be Inflated
This was just released this Morning. Reuters picked up the Original sources then released Immediately over this issue. The French started this with 1500 dead. Then we stated that it was 1429 with 426 children killed. Stated by Kerry initially. During Obama's Speech to the nation he stated over 1000. Doctors without Borders an Independent group came out and stated there were 322up to 355 that were dead.
Despite this the Administration carried forward with a push to Strike Syria. Using the Number of dead thru the Chemical attack as the primary reason. Even Obama stated in his speech the terminology the children. Playing on the emotional rescue with the American people.
Now all the MS Media is jumping on the bandwagon picking up the story by Reuters. Asking why did the Administration decrease the Numbers in Obama's Speech to the Nation and why hasn't there been any other intel released to validate what the French and Rebels/ Terrorists have to say.
One again Congressional Sources released this yet the Media gives us no names. When are we going to tell the MS Media enough of this. We want the names. They want to release info.....then up their name. Whoever it is.....wants this out there. So time for them to put their Skin on the line. Thoughts upon the matter?
One of the most precise and dramatic details cited by the Obama administration as proof that Syrian forces used chemical weapons in an Aug. 21 attack was the death toll, which an official U.S. government assessment put at 1,429 people, including 426 children.
The number, first released by the White House on Aug. 30, was underscored by Secretary of State John Kerry in a fiery indictment of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, describing videos of what he said were victims of the attack, which Syria denies.
The United States Government now knows that at least 1,429 Syrians were killed in this attack, including at least 426 children," he said.
Some U.S. congressional sources are now casting doubt on those figures.
Three congressional sources told Reuters that administration officials had indicated in private that some deaths might have been caused by the conventional bombing that followed the release of sarin gas in suburban Damascus neighborhoods. This disclosure undermined support for President Barack Obama's plan to strike Syria, they said.
A White House spokeswoman referred all questions about the death toll numbers - including a request for comment on whether controversy about the numbers was undermining support on Capitol Hill for administration policy - to intelligence agency spokespeople.
"The Intelligence Community has a high bar for its assessments but it is virtually impossible to achieve 100 percent certitude," said Shawn Turner, chief spokesman for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. "That's not the way intelligence works.
Administration sources told Reuters that they relied on a valid intelligence methodology to make the death estimate. An official said that it involved analyzing video pictures of victims, then eliminating from the fatality total any live person, any dead body with visible injuries and shrouded bodies showing blood spots.
Classified intelligence tools then were used to confirm the provenance of the videos and to ensure that bodies were not counted twice, the official said. The official noted that U.S. intelligence had more resources to gather information than human rights or other non-governmental groups, which had smaller death tolls.
The congressional sources said that some members of Congress asked to see raw intelligence gathered by U.S. agencies. But thus far, the administration has provided only reports summarizing intelligence from human informants, electronic eavesdropping and satellite images.....snip~
Syria Chemical Weapons Death Toll Cited By Obama Administration May Be Inflated
This was just released this Morning. Reuters picked up the Original sources then released Immediately over this issue. The French started this with 1500 dead. Then we stated that it was 1429 with 426 children killed. Stated by Kerry initially. During Obama's Speech to the nation he stated over 1000. Doctors without Borders an Independent group came out and stated there were 322up to 355 that were dead.
Despite this the Administration carried forward with a push to Strike Syria. Using the Number of dead thru the Chemical attack as the primary reason. Even Obama stated in his speech the terminology the children. Playing on the emotional rescue with the American people.
Now all the MS Media is jumping on the bandwagon picking up the story by Reuters. Asking why did the Administration decrease the Numbers in Obama's Speech to the Nation and why hasn't there been any other intel released to validate what the French and Rebels/ Terrorists have to say.
One again Congressional Sources released this yet the Media gives us no names. When are we going to tell the MS Media enough of this. We want the names. They want to release info.....then up their name. Whoever it is.....wants this out there. So time for them to put their Skin on the line. Thoughts upon the matter?
