The confidential files were
acquired by Al Arabiya with the assistance of members of the Syrian opposition.
(Al Arabiya)
| by Al Arabiya
( October 4, 2012, UAE, Sri Lanka
Guardian) Officially, the Syrian regime and its allies, Russia and Iran, have
consistently dismissed allegations that President Bashar al-Assad intends to
use or relocate chemical weapons in his ongoing war for survival.
But classified documents obtained
by Al Arabiya have revealed that the Syrian regime did move chemical weapons
stockpile with the help of Iran and knowledge of Russia.
Furthermore, additional documents
also reveal that Assad has also sought cross border cooperation with the “State
of Israel” which the Syrian regime often refers to in public as a hostile
“entity”.
The confidential files were
acquired by Al Arabiya with the assistance of members of the Syrian opposition
who refused to elaborate on how they got hold of the documents.
Al Arabiya says that it has
verified and authenticated hundreds of these documents and that it has decided
to disclose the ones with substantial news value and political relevance.
‘Wareheads ready to
be relocated’
In a highly-classified -- but
undated -- document sent from Iran, Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Quds
Force, a division of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC),
addressed President Assad directly, affirming that the chemical warheads are
ready to be relocated.
This was in contrary to previous
statements by Iran that it would not support any country with plans to use the
chemicals.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Ali Akbar
Salehi had said that Iran could not support any country -- including ally Syria
-- that used such weapons, calling this “a situation that will end everything.”
“If any country... uses weapons
of mass destruction, that is the end of the validity, eligibility, legality,
whatever you name it, of that government,” he said at a talk given to the
Council on Foreign Relations think tank.
Last week, U.S. Defense Secretary
Leon Panetta had already divulged that the Syrians have moved some of their
chemical weapons capability to better secure it.
It was not clear when the
movement took place, or even if it was recent, but Panetta told a Pentagon news
conference it had occurred in more than one case.
In a recent TV interview, Syrian
Foreign Minister Walid Muallem accused the United States of seeking a pretext
to attack Syria, comparing the tactic to those that preceded the 2003 U.S.-led
invasion of Iraq.
“It is a myth they invented to
launch a campaign against Syria like they did in Iraq,” he said.
Reason why document
was undated
In another leaked document, also
obtained by Al Arabiya; an order sent from the Syrian Presidential Palace and
signed by the head of the Foreign Intelligence Service; Maj. Gen. Bassam Marhej
discusses the detection of an “administrative error.”
The error, which apparently is a
leak of secret documents, was discovered by the Joint Command
(Syria-Iran-Russia) in cooperation with the Syrian embassy in Moscow.
The supposed “error” was likely
related to information about Syria’s chemical weapons stockpiles.
According to Marhej -- and
following the discovery of the “error” -- Syrian President Assad issued orders
prohibiting writing reference numbers and/or dates on secret official
documents.
He also ordered that all
top-secret (written) instructions to be delivered ‘by hand’ and to be ‘burnt’
following receipt along with all telegram and written communication in all
embassies and diplomatic missions.
Assad’s confidentiality
instructions were to be implemented immediately, the document said.
Relation with
Israel
Another batch of leaked files
obtained by Al Arabiya were related to the Syrian regime’s secret relations to
Israel.
Officially, the two states are at
war; particularly since Israel is still occupying the Syrian Golan Heights.
On April 3, 2011, less than one
month after the beginning of the popular uprising in Syria, the Chief of the
Syrian Air Force Intelligence, Sakr Mennoun, sent a written order to Col.
Suheil Hassan to head to the Syrian-Israeli borders and ensure the safety of
the frontiers.
Mannoun requests from Hassan to
secure the borders “in cooperation with the state of Israel.”
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