Preface This article was originally published simultaneously in Propaganda in Focus, UKColumn and OffGuardian in April 2023. During May 2023, the Berlin Group 21 (Ambassador José Bustani, Professor Richard Falk, Dr Piers Robinson and former UN assistant Secretary General Hans von Sponeck) distributed a review of the Douma controversy to all 193 states parties to the OPCW as well as key UN officials. At a UNSC meeting,
Today, for no clear reason, I am reminded of David in 2 Samuel 11 & 12; staying home in spring (when kings conduct war) and impregnating Bathsheba, the wife of a ‘friend’, one of his best soldiers, whom he would later send on an doomed mission to be killed.
The lying and covering up for one’s lies leaves a wake of destruction and a need for more fabricated deception, by proxy, by one’s self, by one’s government. Ancient, still recurring stories.
The official 🐂💩 📽🎬 never ends. I followed Bellingcat when he was a basement blogger & quit when he anal'"yzed" the first chemical incidents. I pointed out ( from 35 years experience) the use of commonly available commercial compressed chlorine gas cylinders used on a homemade " missile" that anyone could & in fact did, fabricate. OPCW,bellingcat & the other Brit, the Sryrian basement observatory, are all an integral part of this neverending staged narrative. Good writeup!
Many thanks Piers, and there are a number of articles I wrote which followed on my observations and researches that you might be interested in. I'd love to help with this project and see it getting more attention from the 'borderline' media. I met Eva Bartlett in Damascus on our visit, having just returned from Douma - and have also been talking to Vanessa B since back in 2013; we've all done our bit in investigating and writing - but could always do with more 'sharing' and coordination. There is a lot to say on this, so I'll put it in an email - all regards David.
Thanks Piers - and I follow Tim on twitter a bit, as a fellow Skripal obsessive! But I appreciate your persistence over the Douma fraud, as I visited Douma hospital in May 2018 and saw for myself, as well as writing for AHT about it. But try as we may, and even as our convictions become more solid, the propaganda becomes ever more deluded and insidious. On the recent 10 year anniversary of Ghouta, our SBS (Australia) had a full report repeating all the same lies, and including a sort of parade of White Helmets. It seems we just have to get used to living in a separate world, protecting ourselves from the excesses and outrages of the Empire and hoping it will self-destruct without taking us all with it.
While it won't necessarily help in staking out the truth over Douma and holding those responsible to account, I wonder whether the OPCW's deceptions and trickery over the alleged 'Novichok' poisoning of the Skripals will one day be incorporated in the charges they must answer? Sergei Lavrov was emphatic over the corruption that took place there, as well as involved in the whole Syrian CW resolution, and no doubt Russia sees the link between Syria and Salisbury as intimate. Equally, trying to prosecute the case against the UK and its White Helmets cannot succeed if their fabrications and lies in Salisbury are ignored or passed over.
Today, for no clear reason, I am reminded of David in 2 Samuel 11 & 12; staying home in spring (when kings conduct war) and impregnating Bathsheba, the wife of a ‘friend’, one of his best soldiers, whom he would later send on an doomed mission to be killed.
The lying and covering up for one’s lies leaves a wake of destruction and a need for more fabricated deception, by proxy, by one’s self, by one’s government. Ancient, still recurring stories.
Thanks for the reference. I'll have a read of that. regards Piers
The official 🐂💩 📽🎬 never ends. I followed Bellingcat when he was a basement blogger & quit when he anal'"yzed" the first chemical incidents. I pointed out ( from 35 years experience) the use of commonly available commercial compressed chlorine gas cylinders used on a homemade " missile" that anyone could & in fact did, fabricate. OPCW,bellingcat & the other Brit, the Sryrian basement observatory, are all an integral part of this neverending staged narrative. Good writeup!
Thanks, much appreciated!
Many thanks Piers, and there are a number of articles I wrote which followed on my observations and researches that you might be interested in. I'd love to help with this project and see it getting more attention from the 'borderline' media. I met Eva Bartlett in Damascus on our visit, having just returned from Douma - and have also been talking to Vanessa B since back in 2013; we've all done our bit in investigating and writing - but could always do with more 'sharing' and coordination. There is a lot to say on this, so I'll put it in an email - all regards David.
Thanks David, look forward to the email, regards Piers
Thanks Piers - and I follow Tim on twitter a bit, as a fellow Skripal obsessive! But I appreciate your persistence over the Douma fraud, as I visited Douma hospital in May 2018 and saw for myself, as well as writing for AHT about it. But try as we may, and even as our convictions become more solid, the propaganda becomes ever more deluded and insidious. On the recent 10 year anniversary of Ghouta, our SBS (Australia) had a full report repeating all the same lies, and including a sort of parade of White Helmets. It seems we just have to get used to living in a separate world, protecting ourselves from the excesses and outrages of the Empire and hoping it will self-destruct without taking us all with it.
hi David, I wrote a piece here, re the state of play with Douma: https://open.substack.com/pub/piersrobinson/p/five-years-on-the-opcw-douma-deception?r=ilw9n&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web. And we (Bustani, Falk, Sponeck and me) issued this review; it has gone to all the state parties and Brazil raised the issue at the UNSC in June. https://berlingroup21.org/front-matter-and-introduction. If there is any info you might have, based upon your work, that might add to the picture, I'd be very interested. I'm easy to reach on piers.robinson@me.com
While it won't necessarily help in staking out the truth over Douma and holding those responsible to account, I wonder whether the OPCW's deceptions and trickery over the alleged 'Novichok' poisoning of the Skripals will one day be incorporated in the charges they must answer? Sergei Lavrov was emphatic over the corruption that took place there, as well as involved in the whole Syrian CW resolution, and no doubt Russia sees the link between Syria and Salisbury as intimate. Equally, trying to prosecute the case against the UK and its White Helmets cannot succeed if their fabrications and lies in Salisbury are ignored or passed over.
Yes, this is an important parallel story. Tim Normanc is working on this issue and there are some articles here: https://propagandainfocus.com/the-salisbury-novichok-trail/ and https://propagandainfocus.com/how-did-the-skripal-novichok-attack-kill-dawn-sturgess/, regards Piers