Did Al Qaeda Fool The White House Again?

In Official Washington, words rarely mean what they say. For instance, if a U. S. government official voices ‘high confidence’ in a supposed ‘intelligence assessment,’ that usually means ‘we don’t have any real evidence, but we figure that if we say ‘high confidence’ enough that no one will dare challenge us.’
It’s also true that after a U. S. President or another senior official jumps to a conclusion that is not supported by evidence, the ranks of government careerists will close around him or her, making any serious or objective investigation almost impossible. Plus, if the dubious allegations are directed at some ‘enemy’ state, then the mainstream media also will suppress skepticism. Prestigious ‘news’ outlets will run ‘fact checks’ filled with words in capital letters: ‘MISLEADING’; ‘FALSE’; or maybe ‘FAKE NEWS.’
Which is where things stand regarding President Trump’s rush to judgment within hours about an apparent chemical weapons incident in Syria’s Idlib province on April 4. Despite the fact that much of the information was coming from Al Qaeda and its propaganda-savvy allies, the mainstream U. S. media rushed emotional images onto what Trump calls ‘the shows’ – upon which he says he bases his foreign policy judgments – and he blamed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for the scores of deaths, including ‘beautiful little babies,’ as Trump declared.

This post was published at Zero Hedge on Apr 16, 2017.