Rockets Loaded with Sarin were used in the August 21st Attack According to Just Released UN Report

This a war crime!  (Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon after receiving and reading the report from his inspectors.)

That is probably the understatement of the year and the perpetrators should go on trial at the World Court because this was a crime against humanity.  The first report did not assess the blame but it doesn't take a rocket scientists to know that the delivery of the chemical weapons were rockets used by the regime.  Definitely not saying this is all one sided but the huge human disaster of the August 21st attack  IMHO points right at Assad.

The release of the report came as a separate panel of investigators from the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva said they were investigating 14 episodes of suspected chemical weapons use in the conflict and would use the report to help identify those responsible for the Aug. 21 attack.

Whoever is responsible for this attack needs to be punished.  Sincerely hope that a diplomatic solution that sounds like has been reached holds and we don't have to bomb anyone so that innocent people do not get hurt again.  The people of Syria have suffered enough.  The New Times has one of the best descriptions of what is ongoing I have found to date and have excerpted below.

From the New York Times::

U.N. Report Confirms Rockets Loaded With Sarin in Aug. 21 Attack 

By RICK GLADSTONE and NICK CUMMING-BRUCE
Published: September 16, 2013  

Rockets armed with the banned chemical nerve agent sarin were used in a mass killing near Damascus on Aug. 21, United Nations chemical weapons inspectors reported Monday in the first official confirmation by nonpartisan scientific experts, saying such munitions had been deployed “on a relatively large scale” in the Syria conflict. 

Updates on Syria

• 12:14 PM   U.N. Report Echoes Open-Source Investigations

• 12:13 PM   Syria's War, Through Iranian Eyes

• 11:32 AM   Full Text of U.N. Report on Chemical Attacks in Syria

MORE UPDATES »

• DOCUMENT: The Chemical Weapons Report 

Although the widely awaited report did not ascribe blame for the attack, it provided in graphic and clinical detail the evidence of sarin residue in three neighborhoods in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta, the precise types of projectiles and trajectories to deliver it and the symptoms of the victims. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the attack the most horrific use of chemical weapons since Saddam Hussein of Iraq gassed the Kurdish village of Halabja a quarter century ago. 

“The report makes for chilling reading,” Mr. Ban told a news conference after he delivered the report to the Security Council. “The findings are beyond doubt and beyond the pale. 

This is a war crime.” 

Tracking the Syrian crisis and the international response. 

Speaking to reporters later, the American ambassador, Samantha Power, and British ambassador, Sir Mark Lyall-Grant, were emphatic in their assertions that the report implicated Mr. Assad, whose government has amassed one of the largest stockpiles of chemical munitions over the past two decades, and only last week admitted it possessed them. 

“This was no cottage-industry use of chemical weapons,” said Sir Mark said. The evidence “confirms, in our view, that there was no remaining doubt that it was the regime” that used the chemical weapons. 

Ambassador Power concurred, saying: “The technical details of the U.N. report make clear that only the regime could have carried out this large scale of chemical weapons attack.”
The report carried the conclusions of a team of inspectors headed by Ake Sellstrom, a Swedish chemical weapons expert, under the auspices of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, a Hague-based institution that monitors compliance with a 1997 treaty outlawing such munitions. 

The report said the facts supporting its conclusion included “impacted and exploded surface-to-surface rockets, capable to carry a chemical payload,” which “were found to contain sarin.” The facts also included sarin-contaminated areas at the sites, more than 50 interviews given by survivors and health care workers, clear signs of exposure in patients and survivors, and blood and urine samples by those patients and survivors that were “found positive for sarin and sarin signatures.”

HIGHLIGHTS

• 8:52 am U.N. Inspectors Confirm Sarin Use in August Attack
• 5:27 am U.S. and Allies Push for Strong Measure on Syria's Arms
• 1:40 pm Opposition Coalition Denounces Syrian Move

U.N. Report Echoes Open-Source InvestigationsWriting on Twitter, Peter Bouckaert of Human Rights Watch noted that details in the United Nations report on the type of rockets used in the deadly chemical attacks outside Damascus on Aug. 21 seemed to confirm crucial findings in the independent investigation carried out by his organization, which noted that “these are weapon systems known and documented to be only in the possession of, and used by, Syrian government armed forces.” 

Secretary of State Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reached an agreement over the weekend on what to do with the Syrian Chemical Weapons:

U.S. and Russia Reach Deal to Destroy Syria’s Chemical Weapons, But Is it Realistic?By Daniel Politi
Posted Saturday, Sept. 14, 2013, at 2:07 PM 

Following three days of intense negotiations in Geneva, the United States and Russia reached an ambitious agreement that would see all of Syria’s chemical weapons put under international control and destroyed by the middle of next year. Secretary of State John Kerry recognized the agreement was “ambitious,” others call it unprecedented and incredibly difficult to fulfill. The United Nations will issue a resolution warning of possible consequences, including sanctions, if Syria fails to comply, notes the Washington Post. But White House officials had already said any U.N. resolution would likely not include authorization to use force against Syria if it fails to comply with the destruction of chemical weapons. What penalties the United Nations could impose are still to be determined, points out Reuters. But Kerry made it clear the United States would still reserve the right to attack. For now, Syria must give a “comprehensive list” of its chemical weapons within a week. 

Whether it will be possible to even fulfill the agreement remains in question though with the New York Times calling the deal “one of the most challenging undertakings in the history of arms control.” One expert tells the paper that the deal Moscow and Washington sealed Saturday attempts to condense “what would probably be five or six years’ worth of work into a period of several months.” And that’s without considering the fact that it would have to be undertaken in the middle of an ongoing civil war. 

Rebel leaders quickly implied they won’t go out of their way to make things easier for the international chemical weapons inspectors, saying they would facilitate safe passage but won’t actually stop fighting, reports the Associated Press. The rebels were quick to express their deep disappointment Saturday. "Let Kerry-Lavrov plan go to hell. We reject it and we will not protect the inspectors or let them enter Syria," one rebel commander tells Reuters. The rebels say that Washington’s backing away from military strikes has emboldened Assad that “now believes that the whole international community can’t punish it, or stop it, so it will do it all,” as a rebel spokesman tells the Washington Post.

If it was up to me, I would be telling the rebel leaders to get on board with the agreement or expect no further help from the United States.  Those chemical weapons need destroyed and you would think the rebels would agree.  Personally think the two sides should be in a coliseum somewhere and let them shoot it out like a Western because there seem to be atrocities on both sides.  Waiting for the Human Rights report which give more details and assign blame.

The key is whether Russia and Assad will keep their word or will the agreements fall apart.  President Obama has done masterful job so far because he is someone who could less about taking the credit just wants to get things done.  The very fact there is already an agreement reached with the Russians to take to the United Nations shows that the President puts diplomacy first but he is not naive enough not to leave open the military option.  Without the military option, the Russians would not be talking or putting pressure on Assad IMHO!

Now it is time for the Republican Party in Congress to keep their mouths shut and let this play out instead of trying to score points with misleading statements and comments.  Time for them to grow up and put America first.

President Obama's Week in Review

This was the President and First Lady's week.  What did Republicans in Congress accomplish?  All I hear from the House Republicans is they want to shut down the Government if Obama doesn't give in on Obamacare and delay for a year which is not happening.  That's their plan and threat to stop Government in its tracks to get him to agree to their agenda.  Are Republicans dumb or what?  
Some Republican office holders even agreed with Putin from Russia when he attacked Obama for his words on Syria about American Exceptionlism.  Suggested on Twitter that they pick up and move to Russia since they loved Putin so much.  Looks like there is no common sense left in the GOP when they had the hard right Senator, Rand Paul, give a counter to the President's speech.  That's scrapping the bottom of the barrel.
The President did an outstanding job with his speech and now the diplomatic channels are open to end chemical weapons in Syria without firing a missle or bombing.  Now can we get rid of chemical weapons from Israel?  No chemical weapons should be in the volatile Middle East for some rogue group to get their hands on them.   Neither Syria nor Israel ratified the ban on use of chemical weapons treaty.  Israel did sign unlike Syria but yet refused to ratify.  
Enjoy this synopsis of the week of the President and First Lady:

Alicia Oken

September 13, 2013 

06:06 PM EDT

Syria: On Tuesday, the President traveled to the Capitol to meet with the Senate Democratic Caucus and the Senate Republican Conference to discuss the situation in Syria.

A little after 9:00 PM that night, President Obama addressed the nation on the Syrian regime’s use of chemical weapons.

America is not the world’s policeman.  Terrible things happen across the globe, and it is beyond our means to right every wrong.  But when, with modest effort and risk, we can stop children from being gassed to death, and thereby make our own children safer over the long run, I believe we should act.  That’s what makes America different.  That’s what makes us exceptional.  With humility, but with resolve, let us never lose sight of that essential truth. 

During his address, he explained his reasons behind calling for a military strike, laid out his reasons for asking Congress to authorize the use of force, and described how the threat of U.S. action has created the potential for a diplomatic breakthrough. See the President’s remarks on Syria here.

Remembering September 11^th: On Wednesday, the First and Second Families honored those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001. At 8:46 AM, President Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Biden and Dr. Jill Biden were joined by White House staff to observe a moment of silence on the South Lawn—marking the moment the first plane hit the World Trade Center twelve years ago.

The President then traveled to the Pentagon Memorial for the September 11^th Observance ceremony, where he laid a wreath at the Zero Age Line and observed a moment of silence for the 184 victims of the attack at the Pentagon. “They left this Earth. They slipped from our grasp.  But it was written, ‘What the heart has once owned and had, it shall never lose,’” the President said. Read the President’s full remarks here.

President Obama then volunteered at Food & Friends, a D.C. service organization that provides meals to people with serious illnesses, to commemorate the September 11^th National Day of Service and Remembrance.

Meanwhile, First Lady Michelle Obama visited the USO Warrior and Family Center and the National Intrepid Center of Excellence (NICoE) at Fort Belvoir, VA. The First Lady started her visit crafting with military children before touring the NICoE and meeting with recovering military personnel.

Later that evening, Vice President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden hosted a BBQ at their home to honor Wounded Warriors and their families.

Drink More Water: The First Lady traveled to Watertown, WI to launch a nationwide effort to encourage Americans to drink more water. “Drink just one more glass of water a day and you can make a real difference for your health, for your energy, and the way that you feel,” she said.

Meeting with the Cabinet: On Thursday, President Obama met with his Cabinet for the third time this year. They discussed steps to improve education, how to put people back to work, along with other issues going on with the government. Check out his full remarks here.

Why the United States and the World Must Act Against Syria for Their Use of Chemical Weapons?

There has been so much hate filled rhetoric against President Obama and his team on Huffington Post about Syria that I wanted to take the time today to give my two cents on Syria:

I want to share why I support President Obama, Secretary of State John Kerry, and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagle on standing up to Assad on his use of chemical weapons.  For almost 100 years, the world has had no fully documented use of chemical weapons on a large scale like has happened in Syria that was used by the regime on over 1,400 of their own citizens.  Syria is one of seven countries that refused to sign the treaty not to use chemical weapons.  If we don't do something as a Nation and the World to stand up after drawing a Red Line in the Sand on the use of chemical weapons when the treaty in the 70's was ratified by 107 countries, then we will be encouraging other rogue nations like North Korea to use chemical weapons.

My Grandfather died when my Dad was 5 years old from mustard gas he had inhaled released by the Germans in WWI.  Germany should been neutered then for using such a horrible gas but they were allowed to rebuild.  It is time the world took responsibility and stood against any nation using chemical weapons.

What bothers me are the hard right and NEOCONS pushing the rebels did it as we know full well the rebels would have been destroyed by Assad if they had released the chemical weapons.  Then there is the part that Al Qaeda are part of the rebels when in reality a source on a conference call last night verified that Hezbelloh and Al Qaeda stand with Assad so why are members of the Republican Party's NEOCON and hard right pushing that?  What are they afraid the UN is going to find in Syria like who has been providing the chemicals and scientists to help with the chemical weapons?

There is no doubt in my mind we have to act against Assad or the world will be even less safe.  I stand fully behind President Obama, Secretary of State Kerry, and SecDef Hagel move forward on what has to be a tough decision but they know you cannot stand idly by as it is too dangerous.

God be with these men as they chart the course of what needs to be done.