'US chemical weapons allegations meant to topple Syrian govt.'

The United States has repeatedly accused the Syrian government of carrying out chemical attacks in civilian areas. Recently, there have even been reports of the US president mulling military action against Syrian government positions over the issue. But Washington has so far fallen short of introducing any compelling evidence of the alleged chemical attacks. Syria strongly denies have used or even possessed chemical weapons since its compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention was certified by international observers in 2013. Press TV has asked Michael Springmann, a former US diplomat, as well as Nabil Mikhail, a professor at George Washington University, to share their opinions on this issue.  

Michael Springmann believes the chemical weapons scenario is meant to distract the world from the recent events in Syria, and give the impression that the United States is really interested in the well-being of the Syrian people.

“It distracts people’s attention from the Turkish invasion of Syria and its fighting of American-supported Kurdish groups in the country; it distracts from the shooting down of the Russian aircraft over the deescalation zone with presumably American-made anti-aircraft missile; and it distracts from the fact that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was most recently in the occupied Golan Heights, a Syrian territory, ranting and raving about Iranian and Russian and other people’s influences in Syria,” he said.

The analyst also noted the United States is raving about chemical weapons in an attempt to “get rid of” the legitimate government of Syria, and that threatening to take the matter to the United Nations is not but a “propaganda campaign.”

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Springmann denounced the use of chemical weapons as a  “horrible” means of sabotaging political progress or rapprochement between various sides.

He also opined that the United States has no interest in peace or the resolution of the conflict in Syria, otherwise, it would leave the war-torn country.

According to the analyst, the United States is working “hand in glove” with the terrorists operating in Syria with the support of Israel and Saudi Arabia in an attempt to take control of its internal policies.  

Meanwhile, Nabil Mikhail, the other panelist on the program, said the United States should provide evidence for its allegations that Syria has been using chemical weapons, considering the fact that Damascus surrendered its chemical stockpile under international supervision a long time ago.  

He also stated that Washington’s decision to attack the bases of the Syrian army as a “punitive act” would not thwart the advances of Moscow and Damascus.  

US officials have claimed President Donald Trump is considering launching military action against the Syrian government which they allege is possibly developing new types of chemical weapons.

The analyst further maintained that the conflict in Syria will not end just as a result of Arab diplomacy, arguing that there needs to be an outside power collaborating with the United States.  

“America has to realize that Russia has gained strategically in a significant way and they may be calling the shots and we have to talk to the Russians about it. Otherwise, it would be an endless cycle of America getting unable to finish the mission,” he said.

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