Israel Matzav

Was Syria behind the attack on the US embassy in Damascus?

Back in September, there was an attack on the US embassy in Damascus. At the time, there were hints that it may have been staged by the Syrian government. After an 'investigation,' the Syrians blamed the Saudis, the US and Israel. The Blotter, a blog belonging to ABC News, is reporting that video of the attack hints that the Syrians may have been behind it.

Some U.S. diplomats have privately questioned whether Syria was behind the plot, or learned of it in advance, and let it take place in order to take credit for stopping it.

"This is one of the most closely guarded areas in Damascus in an authoritarian state. It's so unlikely that something like this, of this nature and scale, could happen," said David Schenker of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

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FBI agents assigned to investigate all attacks on U.S. embassies were denied permission to enter Syria, and U.S. authorities were never told what the fourth attacker may have said before he died.

"He's the absolute key to what happened and to determine the other players that were at the location. What was the cause of the bombing? In other words, who wanted it done?" said former FBI agent Brad Garrett, an ABC News consultant, who viewed the attack tape.

"I mean, he's basically the lynchpin of figuring out what happened," Garrett said.

Garrett and other security experts who viewed the tape say the attack appears poorly planned and not likely the work of the usually well-organized al Qaeda. The attackers did not breach the heavily fortified walls of the embassy, which is situated on a heavily traveled street in Damascus.

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Privately, some U.S. diplomats continue to believe the Syrians played a role in making, or letting it happen, so they could appear to be the heroes who stopped it.

You can watch the video here.

At Riehl World View, Dan Riehl had this figured out just a few days after it happened:

According to this report, senior members of the Baath Party in Syria claim the US attacked its own embassy last week, while newspapers continue to speculate as to who perpetrated the attack and at the Counterterrorism Blog, Walid Pharez wrote of inside information suggesting it was Syria and Olivier Guitta agrees.

After a careful review of news reports, images and several videos, below is my case that the Syrian Government did indeed launch the attack, one never intended to damage or enter the embassy which would have been an act of war against the United States.

The usual superficial reporting by the MSM and the Syrian police removing all evidence in the attack within 90 minutes after its launch prevented the truth from coming out. Given a legitimate attack with a real investigation, such crime scene management would never happen, not even in Syria. Uncharacteristically, the State Department has not asked the FBI to investigate. They said no thank you. No doubt they already know who did it. Now, you can know, too.

The assault was not, as reported, a single pronged attack. It was a two-pronged assault, half of which, the frontal assault, or diversion, was only partially legitimate, the major component at the rear of the embassy was staged for diplomatic effect. Syrian Police did not respond to the attack as claimed, they were waiting and also executed the cover up. Italicized text from link directly above.

But within 90 minutes of the attack, U.S. officials report that Syrian authorities had cleared the crime scene of debris, including the destroyed vehicle and any forensic evidence which could have been used in an investigation. The Syrians also removed the bodies of the three attackers killed by security forces during the attack. All of this before any proper investigation could be conducted by the FBI into the details of the attack.

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To summarize:

The police were already in position

The vehicle that burned posed no threat to the embassy

The van had no license plates yet traveled through a well guarded area

The area was cleared before the alleged serious threat was revealed to the media

It wasn't handled like a real threat at all

All the evidence and any terrorists died or disappeared within ninety minutes

Syria used the alleged attack to bolster its image as anti-terror and to point to the anger America supposedly generates in the region

My gut tells me it was all staged.

Read the whole thing, then watch the video:

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:51 PM