Was Syria's Chemical Attack Another False Flag?

Now that the United States has taken significant action against Syria and Russia because of the alleged chemical attack in Douma, a press conference held by the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and First Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Valery Gerasimov is of particular interest.  This news item, covered by a Russian news source shows us how poorly the western media has covered the Syrian war and, in particular, how biased its reportage has become as it swallows Washington's Russophobic attitude wholeheartedly.

Here is the key part of the press conference:

Here is a transcript:

"Today, we have reliable information about militants preparing to falsify a government chemical attack against civilians.  In several districts of Eastern Ghouta, (a suburb of Syria's capital city, Damascus) a crowd was assembled with women, children and old people brought in from other regions who were to represent the victims of the chemical incident.  White Helmet activists and film crew are already in place at the scene with satellite video transmitters.  This has been confirmed by the discovery of a laboratory for the production of chemical weapons in the village of Aftris which was liberated from terrorists.  According to reports, after this provocation, the U.S. plans to accuse Syrian government troops of using chemical weapons as well as provide the international community with so-called evidence of mass civilian casualties cause by the Syrian government and the Russian government supporting it.  In retaliation, Washington plans to launch an airstrike on the government blocks of Damascus." (my bold)

According to Sputnik, this press briefing was held on March 13, 2018; less than one month later, the chemical attack on Douma took place.

As background, here is a screen capture of a map from ISW News (Islamic World News) showing how Syrian government forces were splitting the forces holding Eastern Ghouta into two parts in early March 2018:

According to South Front, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and the Tiger Forces which are supported by the Russians Aerospace Forces have captured significant ground from the Islamic militants (Hayat Tahrir al-Sham - formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra, an offshoot of the Iraqi cell of al-Qaeda which was founded in January 2012) controlling Eastern Ghouta, splitting the militants into two parts, one which controls Douma, the largest town in East Ghouta and those occupying the region to the south which contains Arbin and Jobar.

Let's close this posting by looking at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research's assessment of damage caused by the battle for Eastern Ghouta from between February 23 and March 6, 2018:

Here is a closeup of the damage caused by fighting in Douma itself over the time period between February 23 and March 2, 2018:

Over the one week period, 17 percent of the area of Douma was affected by major new damage with buildings in these areas suffering from complete destruction and severe damage.

As you can see from this posting, the truth about the conflict in Syria is definitely in the eye of the beholder, however, if it is true that the Russians were aware of a potential chemical attack of the false flag variety in early March and the situation on the ground in Eastern Ghouta is one of desperation for the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham fighters, one can quite quickly see that it is entirely possible that one of America's "allies" in the fight to remove Bashar al-Assad from power in Syria could be responsible for the latest chemical attack in Syria.  After all, even the U.S. Department of State has admitted that Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has used chemical weapons in this warning to travellers:

"Terrorist and other violent extremist groups including ISIS and al-Qa’ida-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (dominated by al-Qa’ida affiliate Jabhat al-Nusrah, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization), operate in Syria.  In July 2017, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham consolidated power in Idlib province after it clashed with other armed actors.  Hayat Tahrir al-Sham control over Idlib threatens the ability of NGOs and states to deliver humanitarian aid to Syrians residing in Idlib. Moreover, Russia and/or the Syrian government initiated airstrikes in Idlib in September, which resulted in significant damage to medical facilities and dozens of civilian casualties.  Tactics of  ISIS, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, and other violent extremist groups include the use of suicide bombers, kidnapping, small and heavy arms, improvised explosive devices, and chemical weapons. They have targeted major city centers, road checkpoints, border crossings, government buildings, shopping areas, and open spaces, in Damascus, Aleppo, Hamah, Dara, Homs, Idlib, and Dayr al-Zawr provinces.  These groups have murdered and kidnapped U.S. citizens, both for ransom and political purposes; in some instances U.S. citizens have disappeared within Syria.  Because of the security situation in Syria, the U.S. government’s ability to help U.S. citizens kidnapped or taken hostage is very limited." (my bold and underlining)

Given Washington's use of false flags to justify war (i.e. the Nayirah Testimony in 1990, the Gulf of Tonkin incident and the USS Maine), one has to be at least a bit sceptical about the recent alleged chemical attack in Syria that is being touted as a justifiable reason for U.S. troops to enter a sovereign nation.