There’s no real proof of what happened in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta, and the rebel claims of thousands of people killed by chemical weapons attacks center, as most rebel allegations do, on photographs and supposition.

What really happened is an extremely secondary concern, however, compared to how the situation can be spun to impact various nations’ ambitions. For France and Turkey, which have been calling for war all along, even a phony allegation is a chance to take advantage.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius is demanding a “reaction with force,” while his Turkish counterpart, Ahmet Davutoglu, says that the incident was a “red line crossed” and that the international community is obliged to intervene.

“If we don’t act decisively, even worse massacres will follow,” Davutoglu insisted. He was in a meeting with German FM Guido Westerwelle, however, who pointed out that the allegations are “unverified.”

Which is putting it mildly. Syrian rebels have made these claims time and again without being able to back them up, and the timing of this particular attack makes zero sense, since it came just as UN inspectors arrived in the nation and served no apparent military goal.