Did President Trump Display Bad Manners at State Dinner? #ToastGate

Official White House Photo by Andrea Hanks.

The above photo appeared on the White House Facebook Page following the Trump Administration’s first State Dinner celebrating the visit of French President Macron.

One comment claimed President Trump showed oafishness and lack of proper etiquette during a toast with Macron. Why? Because he did not hold his glass by the stem while Macron did. Here’s a close-up view:

Well, etiquette experts are quite divided on this issue. While many do suggest that holding the glass by the stem is preferable, holding it by the bowl is also quite acceptable.

Pictures that appeared (uncredited) on Twitter show a wide variety of glass-holding by all.

So, I wondered… What would Obama do?

President Barack Obama and President Hu Jintao of China toast during the State Dinner in the State Dining Room of the White House, Jan. 19, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

President Franois Hollande of France raises a toast with President Barack Obama during the State Dinner on the South Lawn of the White House, Feb. 11, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Amanda Lucidon)
President Xi and Obama Official White House Photo By Pete Souza

Case closed?

First State Dinner Menu, Additional Details Released

Fresno State Completes Review of Professor Randa Jarrar; No Disciplinary Action

Photo courtesy Fresno State, Department of English

Dear Campus Community,

I write to provide an update regarding the university’s review of comments made last week by Professor Randa Jarrar, following the passing of former First Lady Barbara Bush. This issue has raised many important questions about the scope of free speech and the extent to which a member of our university community can be held accountable for expressing his or her personal views.

Professor Jarrar’s conduct was insensitive, inappropriate and an embarrassment to the university. I know her comments have angered many in our community and impacted our students. Let me be clear, on campus and whenever we are representing the university, I expect all of us to engage in respectful dialogue.

Immediately following Professor Jarrar’s tweets last Tuesday, we carefully reviewed the facts and consulted with CSU counsel to determine whether we could take disciplinary action. After completing this process, we have concluded that Professor Jarrar did not violate any CSU or university policies and that she was acting in a private capacity and speaking about a public matter on her personal Twitter account. Her comments, although disgraceful, are protected free speech under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Additionally, although Professor Jarrar used tenure to defend her behavior, this private action is an issue of free speech and not related to her job or tenure. Therefore, the university does not have justification to support taking any disciplinary action. Professor Jarrar will remain on leave through the Spring semester, which she had previously requested before this incident. This matter has highlighted some important issues that deserve further consultation with our academic leadership.

Our duty as Americans and as educators is to promote a free exchange of diverse views, even if we disagree with them. At Fresno State, we encourage opinions and ideas to be expressed in a manner that informs, enlightens and educates without being disparaging of others. It makes me proud when I see our students, faculty and staff debate and learn from each other. This is how we boldly educate and empower our students to succeed.

I want to thank all of you for sharing your views and opinions. By doing so, you demonstrate care for our university and commitment to our students’ success.

Sincerely,

Joseph I. Castro, Ph.D., M.P.P.

President

First State Dinner Menu, Additional Details Released

Official White House Photos by Andrea Hanks

 

 

State Dinner

The color scheme is cream and gold and the china settings consist of the Clinton china for the baseplate, along with both Bush (43) and Clinton china for the dinner service.  The First Lady chose the Bush china with the green color palette to complement the spring green and white flowers that will be featured in the State Dining Room.  Mrs. Trump has also selected pieces from the extensive Vermeil collection as well as American Silver from the White House Collection—from Tiffany & Co. and S. Kirk & Sons—to add to the décor in the State Dining Room.

Entertainment

Washington National Opera from the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts

Floral Arrangements

The Cross Hall will feature over 1,200 branches of cherry blossom, all grown in the United States.

The State Dining Room will feature more than 2,500 stems of white sweet peas and nearly 1,000 stems of white lilac—both California and Dutch grown mixed.

The parlors will feature a variety of mixed garden flowers.  The Stephanotis vines, which will also be featured in the parlors, are from California.

Menu

The menu will be a showcase of the best of America’s cuisines and traditions, with nuances of French influences prepared by the renowned White House Executive Chef, Christeta Comerford (a full menu can be found at the bottom of the release).

The first course celebrates the wondrous first harvest of spring, using greens from the White House kitchen garden.

The main course will  be a Rack of Spring Lamb and Carolina Gold Rice Jambalaya, which will be cooked in a New Orleans tradition and scented with the trinity of Cajun cooking—celery, peppers, and onions, and spiced with herbs from the South Lawn.

Dessert will be a Nectarine Tart infused with White House honey and accented by crème fraîche ice cream.

Wines

The wines were selected to complement the menu and embody the historic friendship between the United States and France, which dates back to the American Revolution.

The Domaine Serene Chardonnay “Evenstad Reserve” 2015 is the product of American and French collaboration—a combination of French plants from Dijon that thrive in the volcanic Oregon soil and colder temperatures.  The wine was aged in 40 percent French oak barrels for more than 12 months.

The Domaine Drouhin Pinot Noir “Laurène” 2014—This wine uses the motto “French soul–Oregon soil.” The grapes at Domaine Drouhin are harvested and sorted by hand and fermented in French Oak barrels.

Schramsberg Demi-Sec “Crémant” has been served in the White House for official and ceremonial events many times over the years.  The subtle sweetness and creamy effervescence of the 2014 vintage is the perfect accompaniment for a nectarine tart.

Full Menu:
First Course:
Goat Cheese Gateau
Tomato Jam
Buttermilk Biscuit Crumbles
Young Variegated Lettuces

Main Course:
Rack of Spring Lamb
Burnt Cipollini Soubise
Carolina Gold Rice Jambalaya

Dessert:
Nectarine Tart
Crème Fraîche Ice Cream

Did President Trump Display Bad Manners at State Dinner? #ToastGate

PFLAG Rescinds Straight for Equality in Media Award to Joy Reid

APRIL 24, 2018

PFLAG National—the nation’s first and largest organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people, their families, and allies—today has rescinded its Straight for Equality in Media award to political analyst Joy Reid.

Said PFLAG National president Jean Hodges, “When we extended our invitation to Ms. Reid to honor her at our 45th anniversary celebration, we did so knowing about the blog posts from the late 2000s regarding Charlie Crist. We appreciated how she stepped up, took ownership, apologized for them, and did better—this is the behavior and approach we ask of any ally. However, in light of new information, and the ongoing investigation of that information, we must at this time rescind our award to Ms. Reid.”

The event was already scheduled for May 9, 2018 in Washington, D.C.

About PFLAG

PFLAG is the extended family of the LGBTQ community. We’re made up of LGBTQ individuals, family members and allies. Because together, we’re stronger.

The Internet Archive published a blog post denying that there was any evidence that her blog was tampered with in the “Wayback Machine.” Such a claim would potentially throw into question the integrity of the archive, making the use of the collection unreliable.

Addressing Recent Claims of “Manipulated” Blog Posts in the Wayback Machine

Skeptical about the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC): Is this data reliable?

The Southern Poverty Law Center’s has published “McInnes, Molyneux, and 4chan: Investigating pathways to the alt-right.” Written by the Hatewatch Staff, the article first asks: “What brings someone into the alt-right ecosystem?”

SPLC:  “The question was posed in two threads posted during the last week of March on the white nationalist forum The Right Stuff (TRS), leading 74 individual users to describe their radicalization narratives.”

Ok, just to clarity, this is 74 anonymous people who might be trolls, who might have more than one user name, who might be undercover cops, who might be journalists, who might be anti-white nationalists trying to discredit white nationalists or who might have a personal agenda to actively smear a certain person—do I have this right?

Ironically, the SPLC makes use of the terms “deeply flawed data” and “faulty statistical analysis” to drive home the point that the Alt-Right will misuse information and science in order to boost its adherents.

Here is the charted data as presented by the SPLC. Remember, we don’t know who the 74 people are, we don’t know if these mentions were in the positive or the negative in terms of “influence.” This is the methodology further explained:

SPLC: “The 107 individuals and platforms mentioned by posters in the TRS threads have been labeled according to their ideology, which include alt-right, legacy white nationalist, alt-lite, mainstream, libertarian, skeptic, men’s rights activist, and conspiracy, in addition to a random category for those not easily classified.”

And I have one more question about the reliability of this data—let’s assume for a moment that these are 74 unique, card-carrying members of the Alt-right. Then how do we account for the fact that the SPLC acknowledges that these folks actively propagandize, misinform, distort and co-opt culture and ideas to legitimize this ideology? Would this still be a reliable pool from which to extract hard data?

https://www.splcenter.org/20180419/mcinnes-molyneux-and-4chan-investigating-pathways-alt-right

Joe Rogan with Sam Harris & Maajid Nawaz Discuss the SPLC & More

Joe Rogan with Sam Harris & Maajid Nawaz Discuss the SPLC & More

Spoiler: They did not smoke weed during the podcast.

The highly anticipated Joe Rogan Podcast featuring guests Maajid Nawaz and Sam Harris was aired live on April 19, 2018.

Nawaz promised an update on his lawsuit against the SPLC, who had named him as an anti-Muslim extremist in the 2016 publication, now removed from the website, titled “Field Guide to Anti-Muslim Extremists – Southern Poverty Law Center.” The outcry upon the publication of this list, which also included activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali, was tremendous, and yet the SPLC refused to back down.

Nawaz explained as background that he had also been placed in a terrorist watch database in the UK, the opposite extreme of the characterization made by the SPLC.

On October 18, 2017, Quilliam, an organization Nawaz founded to counter extremism, issued the following press release:

Maajid Nawaz Wins Legal Battle Against Thomson Reuters World Check

Thomson Reuters World Check has admitted that Maajid Nawaz should never have been listed under their ‘terrorism’ designation, and will pay significant defamation damages to compensate for the harm that has been caused to Nawaz’s personal and professional reputation. Nawaz was represented by Mark Lewis of Seddons law firm.

Thomson Reuters have said:

“Mr. Nawaz’s World-Check profile had included him in the “Terrorism” category and we accept that this categorisation was made in error. We corrected this error on 27th April 2016 and removed Mr. Nawaz from that category. We have apologized to Mr. Nawaz for the error and apologize to our subscribers for any misunderstanding.”

In 2016, VICE News broke the story that Quilliam’s Founder Maajid Nawaz was placed on a ‘terrorism blacklist’ within Thomson Reuters World-Check database.

In the original story, two senior World-Check employees, who asked not to be named, told VICE News that in over eight years of working at the firm they had not seen a single case of an individual successfully challenging their terror designation.

Earlier this year, the BBC were also forced to apologise live on air to Maajid Nawaz after he was called an ‘extremist’ during a live broadcast.

Maajid Nawaz is now 2-0 in the fight against lies, aimed at damaging his reputation.

As many are aware, Maajid Nawaz has announced his intention to sue the Southern Poverty Law Center for defamation after they actually named him on a list of ‘Anti-Muslim Extremists’ and asserted among other falsehoods that Nawaz believes ‘all Muslims are potential terrorists’ and claiming that he wants ‘all Mosques to be surveilled’.

Because of the extensive legal costs of defamation cases in the U.S., Nawaz has been crowd-funding his legal fund against the SPLC and has successfully passed Phase 1 thanks to the generous donations from his supporters. Yet more support is needed to bring the SPLC to justice and to fund the entire legal case.

Maajid Nawaz said:

“That a reforming liberal Muslim like me who attempts to hold a rational conversation around religion, identity and extremism is designated under a ‘Muslim terrorism’ category in the UK, while simultaneously being listed as an ‘anti-Muslim extremist’ in the USA, speaks to our hysterical and irrational climate today.

Support my struggle for reason by donating to bring the SPLC to justice at www.maajidnawaz.com. I pledge to donate all winnings to my US 501c3 charity.

To the mega-rich bullies at the SPLC, I say: your defamation of individuals who themselves have been the victims of extremism and who devote their lives to fighting extremism by calling them “extremists” is a moral outrage. It is time that you be brought to justice.” (end)

———–

Nawaz announced on Rogan’s show that he has retained the Clare Locke Law firm to represent him, the same firm that won a substantial defamation lawsuit against Rolling Stone Magazine. The lawsuit against the SPLC will move forward.

Harris noted that 20 years ago, the SPLC was doing excellent work bringing suit against organizations such as the KKK, but now seems morally confused. Harris pointed to his recent mention on the Hatewatch page that the SPLC maintains for having been criticized in an article by Vox for his interview with Charles Murray. Harris notes that he is listed alongside other articles about the Austin bomber and neo-Nazi groups.

Nawaz talked about his life and how he had come to this point in his life. He grew up in the UK, facing violent attacks perpetrated by neo-Nazis armed with hammers and machetes. At age 16, he joined Hizb ut-Tahrir, a non-violent Islamist political group that sought to establish a Caliphate through infiltration into military and society and instigating coups. Ultimately, this activity landed him in prison in Egypt, although many others that were rounded up were tortured and killed. He was held as a political prisoner for 5 years.

During that time, Amnesty International adopted him and his cohorts as prisoners of conscience and campaigned for their release. The support and interest he received from Amnesty International changed his psyche. He no longer embraced extremism, but looked instead to reform.

Sam Harris was much more cheerful after the sting of the SPLC’s Hatewatch debacle, combined with a major mobbing attack on Twitter.

He was able to chuckle about the fact that the hoopla all occurred while he was on a long-awaited family vacation in Hawaii. Harris said the only saving grace was that they were travelling with another family with children and that he was required to pull himself together and be social.

Harris is now pulling back from Twitter after this last episode and has deleted it off phone, but will keep his account open. His observation is that Twitter amplifies certain voices and circulates smears, smears he saw as an egregious attack on his moral integrity.

Harris regrets publishing his email exchange with Ezra Klein of Vox, saying the emails ended up making him look angry and Ezra look open-minded.

Reflecting on his podcast episode with Klein, Harris felt Klein was fundamentally unresponsive to any of Harris’s points. Harris felt like his audience and Klein’s audience are very different—Klein’s audience is happy if you are scoring political points by decrying racism and white privilege, even if that’s not the topic of the conversation.

Harris will continue to use Twitter as a curated newsfeed, because he benefits from the sharing of articles, but not what’s coming in the form of feedback. He has even changed his setting so that he can screen out accounts without verified emails or with eggs as identifiers.

Sam Harris vs Ezra Klein on the Waking Up Podcast: “Identity and Honesty”

The conversation briefly got off on the hot button issue of trangendered people in sports, but it was not central to the conversation. It came up because Joe Rogan had recently been attacked by an online mob for promoting the idea that in MMA fighting, a man who had transitioned into a woman had an unfair advantage.

The rest of the interview focused on Nawaz and his predictions for the future. He is optimistic, but he says it may take another generation for true reform to happen and for extremism to be fully eradicated. He warned that while ISIS may be reducing its power, Al Qaeda has been reorganizing under the radar in Syria. At this time, they are even grooming one of Bin Laden’s sons to become the new leader, which Nawaz expects will attract extremists loyal to the Bin Laden dynasty.

Rapture Letter: Here’s what your letter should include

With two predictions of the end of the world coming up, one on April 23, 2018 and another in June (see below), it’s time to write your Rapture Letter.

Instructions:

Leave your letter in a plastic container that is marked “to be opened after my disappearance.” (There are also paid services that will automatically email your letter to designated addresses on your behalf because the Internet will still be operating.)

What to include in your letter:

Dear Friend or Family Member,

I have disappeared unexplainably along with millions of others and probably all children who are younger than 13-14 years old. There may even be a pile of clothes left in the spot where I was last seen.

Many of you will wonder what happened. Science and mainstream media (possibly CNN) will try to offer various explanations such as:

I disappeared voluntarily.

I was murdered.

I was abducted by aliens.

I disappeared as the result of a secret military experiment.

The truth is that The Rapture has occurred and I am now safely and happily in heaven.

As predicted in the Bible, now begins The Tribulation. This is a period which will last for 7 years. During this time, you will have an opportunity to confess your sins and become saved so that you can join me in heaven, but you will need to be prepared for what is about to happen.

Gather cash, preferably gold, silver or diamonds, and survival supplies like canned food and water. Buy a generator and weapons and ammo. Move out of populated areas if possible. If you can get to Israel, that will be best. Hide your Bible in a safe place.

A charismatic (male) political leader (likely of European, possibly Roman descent) will emerge and things will seem good because there will be peace in the Middle East and the leader promises to unite the world under a one-world government.

This leader is actually the anti-Christ. You will be pressured to take his “mark.” It could be just be a tattoo, but it may very well be an implanted chip or invisible mark made by a laser. Don’t fall for it. It is the mark of the beast and it will condemn you to eternal damnation.

Expect that 2 male messengers/witnesses will be sent to earth by God to offer redemption, but they will be mocked and discredited. They will perform miracles. They will be on earth for 3 and a half years (1260 days to be exact) and then will be murdered by the anti-Christ himself. The two messengers are probably Elijah and Moses, but not everyone agrees. God will resurrect them and take them to heaven after their physical bodies are desecrated for 3 days.

Then, the Tribulation turns into the Great Tribulation and conditions will become worse. Try to get to Petra if you can.

The earth will begin to experience more natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods. Famine and plagues will also occur. There will specifically be a killer earthquake in Jerusalem. A giant meteor will hit the earth and strange astronomical events will also occur.

Expect the Great Tribulation to be hell on earth with wars and ethnic fighting. Lawlessness will be terrible. Christians will be persecuted and slaughtered for not joining a type of one-world religion pushed by the anti-Christ.

At the end of the seven year period of devastation on earth, Jesus will return in physical form. He will defeat the anti-Christ, but (this is in dispute) it might take another 1000 years for Satan to be defeated on earth.

If you have managed to be saved before this time, or before you are murdered because you are a Christian, you will then join me in heaven. If not, you will be cast into the pits of hell.

P.S. Please e-mail “my rapture letter” to all in my Yahoo mail contact list. Also, if my pets are still alive, please take care of them as long as you can. Thank you.

Apocalypse Again: Calculations Lead to 6.24.18: Includes Countdown Clock!

 

Assessment of the Assad Regime’s Chemical Weapons Use: The White House

Map of military response to the use of chemical weapons provided by US Dept of Defense.

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

April 13, 2018

United States Assessment of the Assad Regime’s Chemical Weapons Use

Key Takeaway

 

The United States assesses with confidence that the Syrian regime used chemical weapons in the eastern Damascus suburb of Duma on April 7, 2018, killing dozens of men, women, and children, and severely injuring hundreds more. This conclusion is based on descriptions of the attack in multiple media sources, the reported symptoms experienced by victims, videos and images showing two assessed barrel bombs from the attack, and reliable information indicating coordination between Syrian military officials before the attack. A significant body of information points to the regime using chlorine in its bombardment of Duma, while some additional information points to the regime also using the nerve agent sarin. This is not an isolated incident—the Syrian regime has a clear history of using chemical weapons even after pledging that it had given up its chemical weapons program.

 

Chemical Weapons Use on April 7, 2018

 

A large body of information indicates that the Syrian regime used chemical weapons in the Duma area of East Ghutah, near Damascus, on April 7, 2018. Our information is consistent and corroborated by multiple sources. These chemical weapons were used as part of a weeks-long offensive against this densely populated opposition-held enclave. This assault has killed and wounded thousands of innocent civilians.

On April 7, social media users, non-governmental organizations, and other open-source outlets reported a chemical weapons bombardment in Duma. Videos and images show the remnants of at least two chlorine barrel bombs from the attacks with features consistent with chlorine barrel bombs from past attacks. In addition, a large volume of high-resolution, reliable photos and video from Duma clearly documents victims suffering from asphyxiation and foaming at the mouth, with no visible signs of external wounds. The World Health Organization (WHO) issued a statement about its concern over suspected chemical attacks in Syria, noting that victims showed symptoms consistent with exposure to toxic chemicals.

Multiple government helicopters were observed over Duma on April 7, with witnesses specifically reporting a Mi-8 helicopter, known to have taken off from the Syrian regime’s nearby Dumayr airfield, circling over Duma during the attack. Numerous eyewitnesses corroborate that barrel bombs were dropped from these helicopters, a tactic used to target civilians indiscriminately throughout the war. Photos of barrel bombs dropped in Duma closely match those used previously by the regime. These barrel bombs were likely used in the chemical attack. Reliable intelligence also indicates that Syrian military officials coordinated what appears to be the use of chlorine in Duma on April 7. Following these barrel bomb attacks, doctors and aid organizations on the ground in Duma reported the strong smell of chlorine and described symptoms consistent with exposure to sarin.

The symptoms described in reporting from media, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and other open sources—such as the WHO—include miosis (constricted pupils), convulsions, and disruption to central nervous systems. These symptoms, in addition to the dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries reported, suggest that the regime also used sarin in its attacks on April 7.

The Assad regime chooses to deploy chemical weapons to terrorize and subdue both opposition fighters and the civilian population. It seeks to minimize regime casualties, in part because its military lacks the strength needed to otherwise prevail. Because the regime’s intent is to terrorize, it makes no effort to discriminate between military and civilian targets. By using these banned weapons and wantonly bombarding civilian neighborhoods with conventional munitions and crude barrel bombs, Assad is collectively punishing his own people as a warning against further rebellion. Further, Assad uses chemical weapons in a manner to maximize suffering, such as against families huddled in underground shelters, as was seen in Duma—a population that was already negotiating for surrender and evacuation.

The regime’s continued use of chemical weapons threatens to desensitize the world to their use and proliferation, weaken prohibitions against their use, and increase the likelihood that additional states will acquire and use these weapons. To underscore this point, not only has Russia shielded the Assad regime from accountability for its chemical weapons use, but on March 4, 2018, Russia used a nerve agent in an attempted assassination in the United Kingdom, showing an uncommonly brazen disregard for the taboo against chemical weapons.

In this case—as with previous instances of regime chemical weapons use—United States experts considered alternative explanations beyond the Syrian regime’s culpability for chemical weapons use. Within hours of the first allegation of chemical use on April 7, Syria’s state-run news agency painted the reports as a smear campaign by the last remaining opposition group in East Ghouta, Jaysh al-Islam. We have no information to suggest that this group has ever used chemical weapons. Further, it is unlikely that the opposition could fabricate this volume of media reports on regime chemical weapons use. Such a widespread fabrication would require a highly organized and compartmented campaign to deceive multiple media outlets while evading our detection. The Syrian regime and Russia have also claimed that a terrorist group conducted the attacks or that the attacks were staged are not consistent with the existing body of credible information. The Syrian regime, conversely, has already been condemned by United Nations (UN) investigators for past and continued chemical weapons attacks. It is the only actor in Syria with both the motive and the means to deploy nerve agents. The use of helicopters further implicates the regime; no non-state group has conducted air operations in the conflict.

 

Precedent of Chemical Weapons Use and Retention of Assets

 

The Assad regime continues to flout international agreements to which it has assented, even after Russia agreed to act as a guarantor of the regime’s compliance and claimed that the Syrian chemical weapons program had been neutralized. The Syrian regime and Russia have alsoworked to undermine international inspection and accountability mechanisms. Assad used sarin in November 2017, as the UN entity for attributing chemical use in Syria expired, ensuring that no UN Security Council (UNSC)-authorized investigative body remained to determine blame for chemical attacks. Since that time, the regime has also used chlorine on multiple occasions. The U.S. assessments of these attacks are based on credible, public information showing victims with symptoms of nerve agent exposure, including pinpoint pupils, as well as munitions of a type that largely matches previously assessed regime chemical munitions.

 

The Syrian regime has repeatedly used chemical weapons to compensate for its lack of military manpower, to achieve battlefield goals, and to compel rebel surrender, especially when the regime believes critical infrastructure or territory in the core of the country to be at risk. The regime has also demonstrated a willingness to use chemical weapons against entrenched  opposition forces to maintain offensive momentum when as it calculates this behavior will not be detected and punished.

The Syrian regime’s chemical weapons attacks on Duma were part of an effort to recapture the city in order to eliminate the final opposition pocket in East Ghutah capable of threatening the capital. The regime also seeks to punish Duma’s civilian population, who have long resisted Assad’s domination, as a deterrent to further rebellion. The regime took advantage of Russia’s protection to use chemical weapons to advance its assault on Duma.

If not stopped, Syria has the ability to produce and use more chemical weapons. The Syrian military retains expertise from its traditional chemical weapons agent program to both use sarin and produce and deploy chlorine munitions. The United States also assesses the regime still has chemicals—specifically, sarin and chlorine—that it can use in future attacks and that the regime retains the expertise necessary to develop new weapons. The Syrian military also has a variety of chemical-capable munitions—including grenades, aerial bombs, and improvised munitions— that it can use with little to no warning.

Last fall, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM) determined Syria was responsible for the sarin attack on Khan Shaykhun in April 2017. This determination was based in part on sample analysis that linkedsignatures from the Khan Shaykhun attack to previous samples from the Syrian regime’s sarin stockpile, making clear that Syria retained chemical weapons well past its promise that it had destroyed its stockpiles and eliminated its program.

 

Chlorine Use Only Weeks after Khan Shaykhun

 

The most recent attack in Duma represents a continuation of the Syrian regime’s pattern of chemical weapons use. Only weeks after the Syrian regime used sarin on Khan Shaykhun, it dropped chlorine barrel bombs as many as three times on opposition forces between April 29 and May 6, 2017, as regime forces attacked toward Al Lataminah, near Khan Shaykhun, where the Syrian regime used sarin in April 2017. The United States has indications of regime helicopters in the vicinity of the targets around this time, pictures of an unexploded chlorine barrel bomb consistent with munitions the regime has used in previous chemical attacks, and a video of chemicals being dispersed. This evidence is consistent with what the OPCW-UN JIM detailed in its fall 2016 reports assigning responsibility to the regime for chlorine attacks in 2014 and 2015. Since 2014, the regime has used chlorine in similar battlefronts to terrorize opponents and break their will to fight.

  • Photos of barrel bombs used in at least one of these attacks were consistent with regimedesigned chlorine barrel bombs used throughout the conflict.
  • Regime helicopters were in the vicinity around the time chemical weapons attacks occurred and in the same area where we identified public allegations. At least one public video of the attack showed footage of helicopters in the area.
  • Victim accounts of these events specifically mentioned chlorine—including its distinctive odor after the attack—and symptoms consistent with chlorine exposure, including respiratory distress.
  • In one of the attacks, pro-opposition social media video footage showed the explosion of a munition that resulted in a yellow-green plume consistent with the dissemination of chlorine.

 

Chemical Weapons Attacks in Damascus Area

 

On November 18, 2017, the Syrian regime used sarin against opposition forces in the Damascus suburb of Harasta as part of an increased effort to recapture an opposition stronghold that had resisted Assad’s rule for several years. This attack resulted in dozens of injuries and deaths. This assessment is based on credible public information showing victims with symptoms of nerve agent exposure, including pinpoint pupils, and details on the munition type that largely match previously assessed regime chemical munitions.

  • A Western NGO received patients suffering from a variety of symptoms, including constricted pupils, coughing, vomiting, and abnormally slow breathing. Some public videos referred to “nerve gas” or an “organophosphate,” which would be consistent with the victims’ accounts of constricted pupils. Social media and the press estimated varying numbers of casualties, including 19 fatalities and 37 injuries.
  • The symptoms described are unlikely to have resulted from a conventional attack given the lack of other injuries associated with conventional weapons use. For instance, we have no reporting of victims experiencing the severe burns that would be expected with white phosphorus exposure.

Social media reported that regime forces conducted the attack with hand grenades containing toxic gas, which further suggests that sarin was used in the attack.

  • The United States assesses that the regime has produced and used sarin-filled hand grenades since 2013 and retained them after acceding to the Chemical Weapons Convention.
  • In a public statement in late April 2017, France compared the sarin it detected in samples associated with the Khan Shaykhun attack to its laboratory analysis of sarin-filled grenades the regime used in April 2013.

On January 22, 2018, the regime used at least four chlorine-filled rockets in Duma, demonstrating its willingness and capability to use multiple types of small-scale chemical munitions. A large body of social media and press reporting provided not only written accounts of the event but also images and videos that increased our confidence that a chemical was used and that the Syrian regime was responsible.

  • Social media accounts note the attack resulted in tens of victims, including at least some women and children, suffering from symptoms such as asphyxiation, consistent with chlorine exposure. Several photos of the children receiving medical care after the attack were posted to such social media accounts.
  • Images of munition fragments from this attack have similar design attributes to chlorinefilled rockets that the regime used in attacks in the Damascus area in early 2017. Multiple public accounts of the January 22 attack also noted that victims smelled a chlorine odor—an indicator of chemical use that we have observed in previous regime chlorine attacks.

Given recent regime chemical use in Duma and Harasta, the continued allegations of chemical use in the Damascus area, and the regime’s use of chemicals under similar battlefield conditions, we are convinced that there have been other instances of both sarin and chlorine use in this area that we have not verified. We are also convinced the regime will continue to use such munitions.

  • The regime’s likely objective was to retake the East Ghutah area. East Ghutah has been one of the last pockets of territory in the Damascus suburbs held by entrenched opposition forces. The regime sought to defeat similarly entrenched opposition forces during the Aleppo offensive in fall 2016, where it repeatedly used chlorine.
  • Syria’s return tosmall, ground-launched munitions to deliver these toxic chemicals reflects CW tactics employed earlier in the conflict that gave regime ground forces a standoff capability to target personnel in sheltered areas such as buildings and tunnels, similar to those the Syrian regime has faced in East Ghutah.
  • Since June 2017, we have identified more than 15 reports of chemical use in East Ghutah. Additionally, accounts of at least four alleged attacks in East Ghutah— including in the towns of Harasta and Jawbar—between July and November 2017 have mentioned chemical hand grenades, such as those we assess were used in Harasta.

This history clearly illustrates the Assad regime’s consistent use of chemical weapons. Such use will continue until the costs to the regime of using these weapons outweigh any idea that they may provide military advantages.

###

Special Report on Syria Published by US Dept. of Defense:

https://www.defense.gov/News/Special-Reports/Syria/

Andrew McCabe Misconduct Report Issued by Inspector General Now Available to Public

 

OIG Analysis (issued February 2018)

  1. Lack of Candor with Then-Director Comey on or around October 31, 2016
  2. Lack of Candor in Interview under Oath with INSD Agents on May 9, 2017
  3. Lack of Candor in Interview under Oath with OIG Investigators on July 28, 2017
  4. Lack of Candor in Interview under Oath with OIG Investigators on November 29, 2017

 

“We also found that McCabe’s actions contemporaneous with the disclosure in October 2016, as well as those following it, reflected an understanding by McCabe that his authorization of the disclosure was not consistent with FBI policy. For example, on October 30 and November 4, following publication of the WSJ articles referencing his authorized disclosure about the PADAG conversation, McCabe called the NY-ADIC to complain about the CF Investigation leaks contained in those stories, without mentioning that he had authorized an anonymous disclosure rebutting the leaks and confirming the CF Investigation. Then, when questioned about the disclosure by INSD agents in May 2017, McCabe issued false denials regarding his involvement in it. Further, after it became apparent that the OIG knew about his role in the disclosure, McCabe sought to legitimize his actions by falsely claiming that he had told Comey that he authorized the disclosure and that Comey was fine with his decision.”

Conclusion

“As detailed in this report, the OIG found that then-Deputy Director Andrew McCabe lacked candor, including under oath, on multiple occasions in connection with describing his role in connection with a disclosure to the WSJ, and that this conduct violated FBI Offense Codes 2.5 and 2.6. The OIG also concluded that McCabe’s disclosure of the existence of an ongoing investigation in the manner described in this report violated the FBI’s and the Department’s media policy and constituted misconduct.

The OIG is issuing this report to the FBI for such action that it deems to be appropriate.”

 

https://static01.nyt.com/files/2018/us/politics/20180413a-doj-oig-mccabe-report.pdf

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