There are still some
people who believe that the chemical weapon massacre in Ghouta was not
perpetrated by Assad regime! Some believe that it was done by the rebels
themselves to fool the "West" so it come to their aid. Some believe
that it was a plot that was orchestrated by Israel and Saudi Arabia
and Turkey. Some believe that it is the US that has manufactured that massacre
in order to intervene and base its intervention on fabricated evidence. Some
believe that the number of those died in the massacre is much less than the
reported 1429, and that it is only few hundreds. Some believe that the rebels
have killed their children and families to lure the US in order to attack
Assad. Some believe that it is Iran, Israel and the US who have orchestrated
this plan against "us". And of course, Bothaina Shaaban believes that
the children who were killed were children brought from the villages in Latakia
by the rebels in trucks to the Ghouta area that has been under suffocating
siege for the past year.
Ok, let us consider these options. If the regime is
not responsible for the chemical weapons attacks in East and west Ghouta, let
us imagine how it would, or should, have reacted and compare that to what
actually happened?
1.
The regime should have held a press conference
next day blaming the attack on the rebels, the terrorists, Israel, Saudi Arabia
and Turkey as it has done after Khan Alassal CWA attack in Aleppo in April
2013. This is a great chance for the regime to discredit the rebels once and
for all. Instead the regime denied the attack completely as if it did not
happen for the first 3 days.
2. SANA and Aldonya and Alakhbareyya would have had
seized the moment and had continuous coverage of the massacre by the terrorists
and blaming it on Alnusra. Instead there were very minimal or no reporting on
the attacks. There were no reporting to blame the rebels until 3 days after the
massacre with the stupid coverage of barrels of chemicals that were found
somewhere and Syrian army personnel wearing masks.
3. Syrian TV and its affiliates would have
continuous coverage of the victims and their families and how they condemn the
rebels and Islamists who committed this heinous crime. Instead the TV had not
even one interview of children and families who live 20 minutes from the center
of Damascus.
4. The Syrian Ministry of health and all ministries
would have announced disaster area and implemented a contingency plan in Damascus
hospitals on chemical weapons decontamination and how to deal with potential
future attacks by the rebels. The plan would have included training of doctors
on dealing with CWA, stocking up hospitals with antidotes and protective gears
and educating the public on what to do when the terrorists fire the next
chemical weapon barrel. Instead not one hospital in the areas under the regime
control including military hospitals have done anything to prepare against such
disaster. Let us bare in mind that the first chemical weapon attack blamed on
the rebels according to the Syrian regime happened in April in Khan Alasal in
Aleppo!
5. The regime would welcomed instant investigation
by the UN team that is only 20 minutes away from the fabricated attack. Instead
the UN investigators were only allowed after the threat of military strike was clear.
6. The regime would have preserved the
"evidence" that will show to the world that Israel and Saudi Arabia
and Alqaeeda committed an attack with WMD. Instead the regime fighter jets and artillery
continued bombing the area for 5 consecutive days after August 21 as if they
want to erase any evidence remained.
6. Assad would have appeared on Syrian TV next day
addressing the Syrian people about the heinous crime committed by the
terrorists and declaring national day of mourning and conveying his heartfelt
sympathies to the children who were killed and their families ( whether they
were from Latakia or Ghouta). Instead Assad's first interview was to Russian
newspaper about one week after the massacre after the threat of military strike
became reality.
7. Assad would have denied in clear terms that the
regime or its troops have ordered or committed the chemical weapon attack.
Instead SANA and Assad used vague statements initially like " It is
political suicide to commit such massacre while the UN team is in
Damascus" or " It is not logical for us to do it" or " We
would not need to use chemical weapons because we don't need them to beat the
rebels".
Now any reasonable person after reading this piece
will be convinced that the regime is the culprit for the chemical weapon attack
that lead to the death of 1429 people including 426 children, except those who
chose not to.
Dr. Zaher Sahloul, Chicago Pulmonary Specialist and President, Syrian American Medical Society
