28 May 2019 — Tim Hayward
This page provides selected links (most recent first) with brief annotations on how public understanding has developed in relation to the event and the informational contestation surrounding it.
Public debate since the leaking of OPCW engineers’ report published 13 May 2019
Mainstream media has been slow – to put it mildly – in picking up the story. Exceptions to the general silence are Robert Fisk, Peter Hitchens, and Tucker Carlson with Tulsi Gabbard. (Hitchens has also pursued the story of a new alleged chemical attack of 19 May this year which appeared simply to be dropped by the media in the light of revelations now circulating concerning the previous one.)
The news was given some public prominence in statements by Susan Sarandon and Roger Waters.
Meanwhile, more numerous independent journalists and commentators have emphasised the significance of the leaked report. Videos feature Jimmy Dore and Aaron Mate interviewing Theodore Postol. Authors of articles include Caitlin Johnstone, Craig Murray, Jonathan Cook, Tony Cartalucci, Martin Jay, Kit Knightly, John McEvoy, Philip Roddis, Citizens Electoral Council (Australia), Martin Odoni, James O’Neill, Eric Zuesse, Fabio Giuseppe Carlo Carisio (in Italian), MediaLens, Tobias Riegel (in German), and Paul Bond.
The story also made the news in Cuba, Ghana, Japan, Venezuela, and, of course, Syria.
From the Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media (WGSPM), Piers Robinson is interviewed live on RT, and David Miller gives an extended interview on Syriana Analysis.
Experts beyond WGSPM who have written on the subject include Theodore Postol and Stephen McIntyre.
The leaked OPCW engineers’ assessment was first published with a commentary by: Paul McKeigue, David Miller and Piers Robinson (13 May 2019) Assessment by the engineering sub-team of the OPCW Fact-Finding Mission investigating the alleged chemical attack in Douma in April 2018, Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media.
Engineers’ Assessment of Two Cylinders Observed at the Douma Incident (circulated internally 27 February 2019; published via WGSPM 13 May 2019) Unclassified OPCW.
Concerns about the quality of the OPCW final report of 1 March 2019
Russian Federation (26 April 2019) Commentaries on the conclusion of the report of the fact-finding mission on the use of chemical weapons in Syria regarding the alleged use of chemical weapons in Douma on 7 April 2018, OPCW Executive Council.
Paul McKeigue, David Miller and Piers Robinson (12 April 2019) The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW): critical questions, Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media.
In this period it emerged that public debate was being influenced by an organisation called the Institute for Statecraft and its “Integrity Initiative”. I have posted a separate listing on this of 185 links to items between November 2018 and April 2019.
Further public information in the period between OPCW FFM interim and final report of 1 March 2019
CGTN (14 February 2019) BBC producer drops bombshell by saying footage of 2018 Douma chemical attack was ‘staged’, Youtube
Significant findings in the period between the event and OPCW interim report of the Fact-Finding Mission (6 July 2018)
Regarding the event of 7 April 2018, relevant links were provided in this commentary that I posted on 8 April 2018 and last updated 28 April 2018.
Fragmentation damage indicates an explosion, not a cylinder drop. It is absent from Douma scene according to OPCW and the ‘augmented reality’ of Forensic Architecture.
The New Dark Age 