Despite Sniper Fire, U.N. Team Reaches Syria Inspection Site

[TomClash]

Source: NYT

LONDON — Snipers opened fire Monday on a convoy of United Nations inspectors heading toward the site of a suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria, disabling the lead vehicle with multiple shots to the tires and windshield, the United Nations said, but the inspectors still managed to visit two hospitals, interview witnesses and doctors and collect patient samples for the first time since the attack last week that claimed hundreds of lives.

Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement that he had instructed his top disarmament official, Angela Kane, who was visiting Damascus, to register a “strong complaint to the Syrian government and authorities of opposition forces” to ensure the safety of the inspectors after the assault. There was no indication that any member of the inspection team had been hurt.

Mr. Ban’s spokesman, Farhan Haq, told reporters at a regular daily briefing at United Nations headquarters in New York that the assailants, who had not been identified, fired on the first vehicle in the convoy, which was “hit in its tires and its front window, ultimately it was not able to travel further.”

Mr. Haq said the inspectors, who numbered about a dozen, resumed their trip to a suspected attack site in a Damascus suburb after the vehicle was replaced, visiting two hospitals and interviewing witnesses, survivors and doctors. “They took a number of relevant samples, they feel very satisfied with the results of their work,” Mr. Haq said. A second visit was planned for Tuesday.


Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/27/world/middleeast/syria-assad.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

[Ash_F]

1. Guts. /nt

[Posteritatis]

6. Seriously. Basically "Car's shot up; BRB, getting new one." (nt)

[cosmicone]

2. This also proves that the fundamentalist rebels used chemical weapons

Assad has better ways to keep the inspectors out of Damascus than sniper fire. He could have just refused to let them in.

The fundamentalist terrorists are behind the chemical weapons. The inspectors finding that out is detrimental to their cause of creating a Talibanesque Syria.

[pscot]

3. You just made that up

You don't know any more than the rest of us.

[cosmicone]

4. In business fraud the old adage is "follow the money"

In politics/warfare, it is "follow the advantage"

Chemical weapons give zero advantage to Assad -- he is already winning and has superior weapons.

The ONLY people who benefit by using chemical weapons are the fundamentalist rebels who want to convert Syria into an Islamic Republic and enforce Sharia. Using chemical weapons and blaming Assad gives the fundies maximum advantage, Western military aid and resources in order to fulfill their dream.

[denbot]

5. Deploying chemical weapons is a very exacting task.

Older/lower tech generation chem weapons are often of the binary type, and take training to to use, and to deploy as effectively as they had, it take extensive training.

It's not like farting in an elevator, these weapons were almost certainly deployed by a well trained combat unit/s.

[yoloisalie]

7. And wont you know it

The rebels are getting serious training in Jordan, Turkey and Iraq.

[cosmicone]

8. Don't forget Israel

It is in Israel's best interest and advantage to draw the US in another middle eastern war and take out Iran's ally.

[ConcernedCanuk]

9. I believe there are more than two factions at work here

.
.
.

USA/MIC has billions of dollars of Military stuff on and under the Gulf, and the Mediterranean.

They waanna use it.

CC

[Celefin]

10. The reason for the quick decision to attack?

Get some air strikes in before the UN can present evidence which might show that the rebels did it or that it was unintentional.
Can't take that chance... would have to change official storyline.

Personally I believe the army hit a weapon stash with artillery.
But no-one has proof for anything. So better go in quickly before possibly inconvenient proof might materialize.

*sigh*