Three years ago today over 50 plus civilians were killed in an alleged chemical weapon attack in #Douma, Syria. US, UK and France bombed in retaliation seven days later alleging the Syrian government had carried out the attack. @VanessaBeeley @2ndNewMoon @Tim_Hayward_ 
1) The US, UK and France alleged that the Syrian air force had dropped two gas cylinders and, at the time, alleged that they likely contained Sarin nerve agent. @MichaKobs @CL4Syr
2) Since then, a crude smear campaign against researchers, journalists, academics and even OPCW scientists, has sought to discredit anyone asking questions as *conspiracy theorists*, *war crime deniers* or *Russian/Syrian agents*. @oliverkamm @chloehadj @CIJAOnline @tobycadman
3) Despite these campaigns to bury the truth about #Douma, whistleblowers, facts and detailed documentation continues to enter the public domain and many now state that there are *major* concerns regarding the official narrative:- couragefound.org/2021/03/statem… @couragefound @opcw
4) In fact, even at the time of the alleged attack, authoritative voices raised serious questions about US/UK/French claims, used to justify bombing Syria, that the Syrian government was responsible: @Tim_Hayward_ @McCormack_Tara
5) Since then, documents and testimony from @opcw scientists and officials has shed light on what really happened in Douma on that day. That has taken courage because, as this OPCW senior official makes clear, Western governments pose a threat to the life of people speaking out.
6) Despite the threats, we now know that the original Douma inspectors raised serious questions about the chlorine cylinders and the damage they are alleged to have caused. This cylinder is supposed to have punched this hole in a ceiling at *location 2*: wikileaks.org/opcw-douma/doc…
7) They also queried how this cylinder at *Location 4* was able to change direction and land on a bed.
8) These questions were essentially obfuscated, buried and left unresolved in the official @opcw final report whilst a leaked engineering study indicated the cylinders had been manipulated by hand, not dropped from a Syrian Air Force helicopter @RealDeeptiC @SantiagoO_MX
9) Indeed, @michakobs has now shown that @Bellingcat (a UK government linked propaganda operation) were in communication with people on the ground at Douma who actually manipulating the cylinder at Location 2:
https://twitter.com/MichaKobs/status/984596184428924928?s=20@aaronjmate @MaxBlumenthal @BenjaminNorton
10) Equally significant was the failure to find any evidence of sarin nerve agent nor even conclusive proof that chlorine gas had been released at location 2 where the deceased were found, piled on top of one another:- berlingroup21.org/background
11) We now know that a toxicology assessment via NATO chemical weapons experts, erased from the final
@opcw report, had concluded that the deceased were not poisoned by chlorine wikileaks.org/opcw-douma/doc…
@opcw report, had concluded that the deceased were not poisoned by chlorine wikileaks.org/opcw-douma/doc…
12) We also know from the leaked original interim report that witness testimony, again obfuscated in the final
@opcw #Douma report, showed contradictory and contrasting claims about what had happened:- couragefound.org/2021/03/additi…
@opcw #Douma report, showed contradictory and contrasting claims about what had happened:- couragefound.org/2021/03/additi…
13) It has now been confirmed that the Western-backed #WhiteHelmets were a key source for the FFM Douma investigation and also that the late James le Mesurier and WH leader Raed Saleh had been involved in supplying witnesses to OPCW FFM investigations.
@LenP91535865 @samibarrek
@LenP91535865 @samibarrek
14) Many of these so-called *Country X* witnesses were present at Location 2 and, as can be seen in the suppressed original interim report, reported symptoms consistent with a nerve agent such as Sarin even though we now know no sarin was ever found see tweet 10 above
15) Careful reconstruction of visual imagery by Stephen MacIntyre shows how bodies at Location 2 were re-arranged during the course of the night of April 7:- climateaudit.org/2018/04/24/dou…… @ClimateAudit
16) Whilst at the time the BBC’s Riam Dalati complained in public about the manipulation of bodies for 'PR' purposes:
17) @Dalatrm has also publicly stated that, based upon six months of research with White Helmets and activists, that the hospital scenes at Douma were staged.
https://twitter.com/Dalatrm/status/1095677403198906369?s=20@bbclysedoucet. Dalati refuses to hand his evidence to investigators @ClarkeMicah
18) Critically, an individual photographed at the hospital scene is also captured in a single frame, at Location 2 where the deceased were found:-
https://twitter.com/PiersRobinson1/status/1273888878164934656?s=20
19) In sum, toxicological and chemical assessments that rule out chlorine or sarin nerve agent as cause of death, manipulation of the bodies, staging at the hospital, and reliance upon WH-linked witnesses, inevitably raises serious questions: couragefound.org/2019/10/analyt…
20) But all of the critical issues have been systematically suppressed in what is now a remarkable series of acts of censorship and stonewalling by senior OPCW management and Western governments:-
21) As reported originally by @ClarkeMicah/Mail on Sunday, the original interim report which identified many of these issues, was secretly altered and then an attempt made to publish it behind the back of the Douma Inspectors hitchensblog.mailonsunday.co.uk/2019/11/new-se…
22) This led to the first internal protest at the OPCW when the act of subterfuge was accidently discovered by one of the Douma team: wikileaks.org/opcw-douma/doc…
23) As originally reported by @steelejourno, shortly after this, in violation of the Chemical Weapon Convention, a US delegation was allowed to brief the Douma FFM team and put to them their view that the Syrian government had carried out the attack:-
24) As concerns amongst inspectors increased that the Douma investigation was being manipulated, two senior OPCW scientists made repeated attempts to alert senior management. These were all met with silence and stonewalling. berlingroup21.org/background
25) And as @aaronjmate reports here, their concerns were supported by other senior OPCW officials. Despite this, the very simply request for all the Douma FFM team to meet and discuss the investigation have been refused.thegrayzone.com/2020/12/07/opc…
26) After the OPCW final Douma report was issued in March 2019, US-led states parties blocked a request that all the Douma inspectors could be heard and refused a similar motion in December 2019.
27) 2020 saw two UNSC Arria formula meetings set up by the Russian Federation and then, at an October UNSC meeting, first @opcw director general Ambassador Bustani was blocked by the US and its allies from speaking on the Douma issue:-
28) Throughout, OPCW senior management and the US/allies have resorted to smear campaigns and stonewalling, rather than addressing the substantive concerns being raised. The simple request to meet with the dissenting inspectors has simply been denied, time and time again.
29) Leading voices and former @opcw inspectors, including its first Director General, continue to call for transparency and accountability at the OPCW: berlingroup21.org
30) Whilst courageous politicians such as @TulsiGabbard @wallacemick and @ClareDalyMEP have recently spoken out: video.foxnews.com/v/623986700100…
33) They do so despite the continued smearing, from the highest levels, as *conspiracy theorists* and *war crime deniers*:- dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9… @ClarkeMicah @PeterCronau
34) and attempted smears using false information by propaganda outlets such as @bellingcat:- thegrayzone.com/2020/10/28/dra… @MaxBlumenthal @aaronjmate
35) To conclude, serious questions remain unanswered about the deaths of the innocent civilians at Douma *and* the extent to which the @opcw is now captured by US-led states. The former are a question of justice and accountability w.r.t. a potential war crime.
36) The latter questions are even wider and more critical, concerning the abuse of a UN institution for the purposes of justifying aggressive war. If the @opcw has been manipulated by US and its allies, this will happen again, and again and again.
37) Now is the time for answers, transparency and accountability from the @opcw. @rogerwaters @SusanSarandon @TulsiGabbard @wallacemick @ClareDalyMEP @PeterCronau @ClarkeMicah @Tim_Hayward_ @RealDeeptiC @medialens @caitoz @johnbradysf @timtron2020
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