The alleged chemical attack in Syria is a blatant display of how emotional propaganda is used to try and pull at the heartstrings of the general public in order to garner support for a military attack on Syria by the US and her allies.

Unless you are sociopathic, watching videos of children in distress who have allegedly been struck by a chemical agent (in an incident where women and children have also allegedly died) is going to upset you, yet it must be remembered that these videos are being used as propaganda instruments, intended to elicit an emotional response.

Whether these videos are authentic or not will need to be investigated, but even if this is a genuine incident, and innocent people have tragically died, why is the Syrian government immediately blamed? We know that there is evidence that militant opposition groups have used chemical weapons in Syria previously, yet this is never highlighted by much of the media in their reports of this latest incident.

Russian MOD Previously Warned of Chemical Weapons False Flag Attack

Last month, the Russian Defense Ministry warned that the US was training militants in Syria to stage a chemical weapons false flag attack as a basis for the US to launch airstrikes against the Syrian government:

“We have reliable information at our disposal that US instructors have trained a number of militant groups in the vicinity of the town of At-Tanf, to stage provocations involving chemical warfare agents in southern Syria. They are preparing a series of chemical munitions explosions. This fact will be used to blame the government forces. The provocations will be used as a pretext by the United States and its allies to launch strikes on military and government infrastructure in Syria.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry denounced the fresh allegations against the Syrian government as “fake news,” stating that these reports are just the latest installment in a “continuous series of fake news [reports] about the use of chlorine and other chemical agents by government forces.” The Syrian government has stated that “allegations of chemical use have become an unconvincing broken record.”

Trump Pushes Phony Narrative

In a series of tweets, US President Donald Trump pushed the narrative that the Syrian government was responsible for the alleged attack:

Many dead, including women and children, in mindless CHEMICAL attack in Syria. Area of atrocity is in lockdown and encircled by Syrian Army, making it completely inaccessible to outside world. President Putin, Russia and Iran are responsible for backing Animal Assad. Big price… — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 8, 2018

….to pay. Open area immediately for medical help and verification. Another humanitarian disaster for no reason whatsoever. SICK! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 8, 2018

If President Obama had crossed his stated Red Line In The Sand, the Syrian disaster would have ended long ago! Animal Assad would have been history! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 8, 2018

How can Trump be so sure that the Syrian government was responsible for the attack? To my knowledge, no serious investigation has taken place into the incident thus far.

Are we also just meant to believe that it is merely a coincidence that John Bolton, the war hawk and neoconservative, is set to formally begin his role tomorrow (April 9th) as Trump’s new National Security Adviser. Even after the horror of the Iraq war that caused widespread death, destruction and destabilization, Bolton has repeatedly defended the war and the ousting of Saddam Hussein, believing that the war was a great accomplishment that achieved many US strategic objectives in the region.

Logic alone will tell you that the latest allegations against the Syrian government are based on lies, distortion and propaganda. The whole narrative makes absolutely no sense. In what way does this incident serve Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian government? Why would Assad, a man who has survived in power after seven years of incessant demonization coupled with foreign-backed warfare, order a chemical weapons attack when he knows that the enemies of Syria will jump on this as a justification for military operations aimed at regime change? Assad may be many things, but he is not suicidal.

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Steven MacMillan is a freelance writer and editor of The Analyst Report where this article was originally published.

Featured image is from OffGuardian.