Secretary of State Kerry said that only Syria had possession of chemical weapons, but UN's Carla Del Ponte last May said that a UN investigation indicated that it was the rebels who had used nerve gas in a previous attack.
Carla Del Ponte, Member of Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic:
During our investigation for crimes against humanity and war crimes, we collect some witness testimony that made to appear that some chemical weapons were used, in particular, nerve gas, and what appears to our investigation, that was used by the opponents, by the rebels, and we have no indication at all that the government, that the Syrian government used chemical weapons.... I was a little bit stupefied that the first indication we got... they were about the use of nerve gas by the opponents.
Secretary of State John Kerry:
I also want to underscore that while investigators are gathering additional evidence on the ground, our understanding of what has already happened in Syria is grounded in facts informed by conscience and guided by common sense.Where is the common sense? Kerry is wrong to believe only the Syrian government possesses chemical weapons instead of listening to the UN who found evidence that the rebels deployed nerve gas, just as wrong as he was when he believed Iraq had WMDs, instead of listening to Hans Blix, the head of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission in charge of monitoring Iraq, who was right that Iraq had no WMDs.
Where is the conscience? How could the US rush to war again without letting UN inspectors complete a thorough investigation after Iraq? How could the US arm "rebels" who are affiliated with Al Qaeda? The US bombed the Taliban for their affiliation with Al Qaeda. The US conducts drone strikes that kills innocent children purportedly because they are hunting down people affiliated with Al Qaeda. The US spies on us supposedly because of Al Qaeda. The US invasion of Iraq was based on their claim that Iraq was harboring Al Qaeda. How could our government rationalize arming these Al Qaeda affiliated mercenaries after 9/11?
Kerry's saber rattling speech was unconscionable and completely lacking common sense. If this war is fought, it will be known as John Kerry's War.
Secretary of State John Kerry, let me ask you this: How can you ask men, women, and children to die for a mistake?