Hersh Vindicated? Turkish Whistleblowers Corroborate Story On False Flag Sarin Attack In Syria

Two deputies from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) have claimed that the government is against investigating Turkey’s role in sending toxic sarin gas which was used in an attack on civilians in Syria in 2013 and in which over 1,300 Syrians were killed.
By | October 26, 2015
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    This is quite the bombshell delivered by two CHP deputies in the Turkish parliament and reported by Today’s Zaman, one of the top dailies in Turkey.

    It supports Seymour Hersh’s reporting that the notorious sarin gas attack at Ghouta was a false flag orchestrated by Turkish intelligence in order to cross President Obama’s chemical weapons “red line” and draw the United States into the Syria war to topple Assad.

    If so, President Obama deserves credit for “holding the line” against the attack despite the grumbling and incitement of the Syria hawks at home and abroad.

     

    And it also presents the unsavory picture of an al-Qaeda operatives colluding with ISIL in a war crime that killed 1300 civilians.

    I find the report credible, taking into full account the fact that the CHP (Erdogan’s center-left Kemalist rivals) and Today’s Zaman (whose editor-in-chief, Bulent Kenes was recently detained on live TV for insulting Erdogan in a tweet) are on the outs with Erdogan.

    Considering the furious reaction it can be expected to elicit from Erdogan and the Turkish government, the temerity of CHP and Today’s Zaman in running with this story is a sign of how desperate their struggle against Erdogan has become.  Note that the author is shown only as “Columnist: Today’s Zaman”.

    I expect the anti-Erodgan forces hope this will be a game changer in terms of U.S.and European support for Erdogan.

    It will be very interesting to see if and how the media in the U.S. covers this story.  In case it doesn’t acquire enough “legs” to make into US media, I attach the full Zaman piece below:

    CHP deputies: Gov’t rejects probe into Turkey’s role in Syrian chemical attack

    Two deputies from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) have claimed that the government is against investigating Turkey’s role in sending toxic sarin gas which was used in an attack on civilians in Syria in 2013 and in which over 1,300 Syrians were killed.

    CHP deputies Eren Erdem and Ali Şeker held a press conference in İstanbul on Wednesday in which they claimed the investigation into allegations regarding Turkey’s involvement in the procurement of sarin gas which was used in the chemical attack on a civil population and delivered to the terrorist Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) to enable the attack was derailed.

    Taking the floor first, Erdem stated that the Adana Chief Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation into allegations that sarin was sent to Syria from Turkey via several businessmen. An indictment followed regarding the accusations targeting the government.

    “The MKE [Turkish Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation] is also an actor that is mentioned in the investigation file. Here is the indictment. All the details about how sarin was procured in Turkey and delivered to the terrorists, along with audio recordings, are inside the file,” Erdem said while waving the file.

    Erdem also noted that the prosecutor’s office conducted detailed technical surveillance and found that an al-Qaeda militant, Hayyam Kasap, acquired sarin, adding: “Wiretapped phone conversations reveal the process of procuring the gas at specific addresses as well as the process of procuring the rockets that would fire the capsules containing the toxic gas. However, despite such solid evidence there has been no arrest in the case. Thirteen individuals were arrested during the first stage of the investigation but were later released, refuting government claims that it is fighting terrorism,” Erdem noted.

    Over 1,300 people were killed in the sarin gas attack in Ghouta and several other neighborhoods near the Syrian capital of Damascus, with the West quickly blaming the regime of Bashar al-Assad and Russia claiming it was a “false flag” operation aimed at making US military intervention in Syria possible.

    Suburbs near Damascus were struck by rockets containing the toxic sarin gas in August 2013.

    The purpose of the attack was allegedly to provoke a US military operation in Syria which would topple the Assad regime in line with the political agenda of then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his government.

    CHP deputy Şeker spoke after Erdem, pointing out that the government misled the public on the issue by asserting that sarin was provided by Russia. The purpose was to create the perception that, according to Şeker, “Assad killed his people with sarin and that requires a US military intervention in Syria.”

    He also underlined that all of the files and evidence from the investigation show a war crime was committed within the borders of the Turkish Republic.

    “The investigation clearly indicates that those people who smuggled the chemicals required to procure sarin faced no difficulties, proving that Turkish intelligence was aware of their activities. While these people had to be in prison for their illegal acts, not a single person is in jail. Former prime ministers and the interior minister should be held accountable for their negligence in the incident,” Şeker further commented.

    Erdem also added that he will launch a criminal complaint against those responsible, including those who issued a verdict of non-prosecution in the case, those who did not prevent the transfer of chemicals and those who first ordered the arrest of the suspects who were later released.

    UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced in late August that an inquiry had been launched into the gas attacks allegedly perpetuated by both Assad’s Syrian regime and rebel groups fighting in Syria since the civil war erupted in 2011.

    However, Erdem is not the only figure who has accused Turkey of possible involvement in the gas attack. Pulitzer Prize winner and journalist, Seymour M. Hersh, argued in an article published in 2014 that MİT was involved with extremist Syrian groups fighting against the Assad regime.

    In his article, Hersh said Assad was not behind the attack, as claimed by the US and Europe, but that Turkish-Syrian opposition collaboration was trying to provoke a US intervention in Syria in order to bring down the Assad regime.

    Copyright © CounterPunch

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      • FiendNCheeses

        “If so, President Obama deserves credit for “holding the line” against the attack despite the grumbling and incitement of the Syria hawks at home and abroad.”

        Interesting interpretation, but the truth is that prior to declaring his intention to attack Syria, Obama was warned by members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff that it was not Assad who was responsible for the chemical attack on Ghouta, but, rather, terrorist elements with Turkey’s assistance. Yes, even though he knew better, Obama still planned on attacking.

        It was only after vocal outcry from the American public against our getting involved that he made the decision to put the matter before Congress for a vote. Then, Congress made it clear that they wouldn’t simply rubber-stamp the president’s request – they’d hold hearings on the matter, first, before giving its approval. Well, hearings meant questions and Obama knew that if the truth of Turkey’s involvement came out in a public, congressional forum, he’d look quite the fool, especially after having spent months falsely claiming that there was “undeniable evidence” that Assad was responsible (evidence of which he never presented).

        So after that debacle, Obama boldly proclaimed that he’d settle for Assad ridding himself of all chemical weapons in a timely manner in lieu of air strikes and patted himself on the back for being such a peaceful and masterful politician. The problem is, the Russians proposed the same exact thing – one year prior to the attack in Ghouta – to which Obama then said no.

        There’s no question that Obama’s a liar and a war criminal who should be impeached. We should also toss Turkey out of NATO and the UN should bring Erdogan’s government up on charges of mass murder through the use of chemical weapons.

        The president made much-to-do about his infamous ‘Red Line’ while trying to fool the American public into believing that Assad was culpable in the heinous attack on Ghouta, but now that the truth is coming to light, the only real question is, does his infamous ‘Red Line’ apply to Turkey, as well?

      • Roland P

        I always said Erdogan was an Islamist rat and cannot be trusted. Its insane for Islamist Turkey to still be a member of NATO when they were ready to start WW3…..????? European Leaders are Cowards and will look the other way for sure. Merkel is a Coward too.