Scant Evidence and Missing Proof
„No court anywhere would accept a case based on so scant an evidence“, comments deputy party chair and member of the top team of DIE LINKE for the federal elections, Jan van Aken, on the report presented by the U.S. government claiming the Assad regime conducted the chemical attack near Damascus.
The report reminds of the one based on which the U.S. started the Iraq war in 2003. The arguments presented by foreign secretary Kerry are threadbare:
1. Assad would possess chemical weapons and respective ammunition. That is correct. The assumption rebels would not have such weapons is nevertheless untenable. Both by defectors as well as by conquering military bases the rebels could have easily gained access to them.
2. Assad has used chemical weapons already several times this year. Therefore, it is likely to presume it was him again. This argument is firstly without proof and secondly circular reasoning.
3. Just before the chemical assault regime troops have been seen preparing chemical ammunition. In the vicinity of possible launch sites regime members wearing gas masks have been observed. At first appearance one of the more weighty arguments - yet the source remains obscure. Provided this is based on reports by secret service informants, these data have to be treated with extreme caution – the suspicion of mobile biological weapons labs in Iraq in 2003 was based on secret service informants too.
4. After the chemical attack conversations have been intercepted, among others from a higher rank official who has confirmed the use of chemical weapons and was concerned about a discovery by UN inspectors. It is not clear to me why the recordings of those conversations have not been published for long if they are that obvious. With intercepted conversations protection of sources couldn’t certainly be a problem.
Evidence is altogether far shakier than in 2003. I ask the federal government to apply its full political clout to avoid a US-American bombardement. Bombs do not create peace. The people in Syria urgently need humanitarian aid.