Russia and Syria, at OPCW, Prove Douma Incident Was Staged, Warn of Nuclear War Threat

FROM EIR DAILY ALERT

Russia and Syria, at OPCW, Prove Douma Incident Was Staged, Warn of Nuclear War Threat

April 26, 2018 (EIRNS)—Technical experts from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) today interviewed 6 of the 17 Syrian eyewitnesses from Douma who came to The Hague to testify to the White Helmets’ staging of the April 7 fake chemical weapons attack in Douma, which was used as the pretext for the April 14 U.K., U.S., French bombing of Syria.

Afterwards, many of those eyewitnesses told their stories at the press briefing chaired by Russia’s representative to the OPCW, Ambassador Alexandr Shulgin. The witnesses were clearly ordinary Syrians: doctors, paramedics and lab workers from Douma’s only hospital, a resident who was in the emergency room at the time, and Hassan Diab, the 11-year-old boy dragged into the White Helmets’ staged incident, and Hassan’s father.

The medical personnel and the town resident all reported that there was no chemical smell and not one person displaying symptoms of a chemical attack, only some people suffering from mild or moderate asphyxiation, caused by smoke and dust. No one was even admitted to the hospital that night; after being treated, all patients were able to be sent home that night. They did report that a group of people stormed into the emergency department shouting “Civil Protection,” “chemical attack,” creating panic and pouring cold water on patients while a few filmed it on their phones.

Russian Maj. Gen. Igor Kirillov, who heads the Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Protection Forces, presented footage from apartments into which chemical cylinders had allegedly been dropped from a Syrian government helicopter, showing that the cylinders were undamaged by the 2,000 meter fall.

The briefing was boycotted by the British, U.S., French and allied European representatives to the OPCW, who denounced it as a “stunt.” The press questions were hostile, even vile, but the briefing was broadcast live with English translation on Sputnik and RT, and is available to the world.

After the presentations, Ambassador Shulgin drove home the strategic threat. Russia is constantly accused of spreading “fake news” and “waging informational warfare”; now you see who is doing just that. The White Helmet terrorists who feed off U.K. and U.S. taxpayers have been caught in the act. But this fraud has far-reaching consequences! Probably not since the 1962 Cuba Missile Crisis has the world been so close to the threat of a Russia-U.S. conflict, Shulgin said. Now that threat seems to not be as acute, but the threat of military action is still around. God forbid this should lead to any kind of nuclear conflict!

The Russian representative charged that this Douma provocation brings to mind the 1939 Gleiwitz incident staged by Nazi SS units to make it look as though Poland had attacked Germany, thereby giving Germany the pretext to unleash World War II.

He movingly appealed to reason: Turn away from this path which is still rushing towards conflict! We cannot allow Cold War to become a hot war. We must work together on mutual interests, with mutual respect. Syria must see peace, so that many years from now, Hassan will grow up to be a doctor, a teacher, perhaps even a diplomat who will represent his country. We hope common sense will prevail, he concluded.