Thread by @Tim_Hayward_

Under Pressure: the Organisation for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has repeatedly been instrumentalized to create pretexts for war. A thread...
1. Already in 2002, OPCW general director Jose Bustani was ousted for securing cooperation from Iraq.
monbiot.com/2002/04/16/a-w…

2. After Obama announced that chemical weapons use would cross a Red Line triggering intervention, allegations in Syria began. Leading the OPCW investigations was respected scientist Åke Sellstrom (who had helped dismantle Iraq’s weapons in the 1990s).
uk.reuters.com/article/syria-…

3. Åke Sellstrom today finds “genuine distrust in many geographical regions” of OPCW's “double standards & biased processes that benefit the West.” OPCW must “improve the representativeness of its staffing & incorporate ethical values into its training.”
sipri.org/publications/2…

4. A problem of OPCW not following its own procedures was stark with event of Khan Sheikhoun in 2017. F-UK-US alliance blamed & bombed Syria. OPCW retrospectively justified their action, yet the crucial chain of custody of evidence was unverified.
hitchensblog.mailonsunday.co.uk/2017/07/who-ga…

5. Serious deficiencies in the Khan Sheikhoun report (by UN-OPCW Joint Investigative Mechanism) caused protest from Non-Alligned States at its crediting "unsubstantiated allegations" and creating "a dangerous precedent in the future work of the OPCW."
opcw.org/sites/default/…

6. Instead of addressing the problems, OPCW got deeper into controversy with a shoddy - and inexplicably delayed - report on Douma 2018 incident.
A leaked document would reveal that OPCW inspections on the ground contradicted the official conclusion.
syriapropagandamedia.org/working-papers…

7. Given Douma was the first incident where OPCW inspectors were on site – and their findings contradicted official report – what of all the previous reports? Former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter cites the old prosecutorial rule: "one lie - all lies"!
theamericanconservative.com/articles/the-d…

8. Instead of addressing these further problems, OPCW undertook to investigate the whistleblower so as to ensure no further information would leak.
This leaves all the more questions to be answered - including the cause of death of 35(+) people in Douma.
syriapropagandamedia.org/briefing-notes…