Tracking the Illegal Shipment of Sarin Precursor from Belgium to Syria
bellingcat.com
bellingcat.com
What I do know for sure however, is that this blog is utter bunk.
The Belgian customs found that without having requested the appropriate export licenses three Flemish companies have exported 96 tonnes of isopropanol in a concentration of 95% or higher to Syria since sanctions came into force in September 2013.
That’s rubbing alcohol! That’s not evidence of sarin manufacture, it’s not a “precursor” it’s rubbing alcohol in typical concentrations for goddamned Purell. Can you use it as part of a process to make sarin? Sure, but it’s not a critical ingredient, it’s not what any honest person would consider a precursor, it’s just a solvent. It also antimocrobial and antiseptic, and you know... rubbing alcohol.
And news sites have the freedom to remove unwanted noise and divisive trolling from their articles.
Sure they have, but if you actually consider media the "fourth branch of government" then wouldn't it be more desirable to let people have public discourse and debate, after all, that's supposed to be its role?
Print media at least has reader's letters, what's the modern equivalent of digital media? Comments! They allow even more people to participate in the discourse. Disable the comments and what's left? Pretty much nothing but articles quoting random noise from Twitter, which isn't something everybody can or wants to participate in.
Number one, they are able to track the volume and destinations of the trade. It would be weird to see a large fluctuation in exports-- why would Syrian consumers suddenly begin demanding or abandoning their use of rubbing alcohol? Demand is most likely constant.
Number two, the Belgians have already arrested and are criminally prosecuting the company executives who did not obtain the proper export license. Is this "bureaucratic heavy-handedness" (certainly possible), or do they have evidence that the chemical in question was delivered in such a large quantity that it is "fishy"?
...To quote another here.
Isopropyl alcohol is not an organophosphate precursor.
https://cyber.sci-hub.hk/MTAuMTAwMi9zbGN0LjIwMTcwMjc2Mw==/qu...
Precursors of CW agents are chemicals which have relatively small molecules, that may be used for the synthesis of other toxic products such as organophosphorous pesticides.[1,2] Direct precursors of nerve agents are those chemicals that can be converted to nerve agents in one or two synthetic steps, and are those under strict surveillance by OPCW. Industrial com- pounds such as organophosphates (pesticides mainly), phos- gene, chlorine, and cyanide are precursors that are not difficult to obtain.[3] On the other side, synthesis of methylphosphono- fluoridates (G-agents) and V-agents is not direct because of the absence of a large-scale commercial source of the key organo- phosphorous precursors: methylphosphonyl dichloride (Me- POCl2) and methylphosphonyl difluoride (MePOF2). However, impure nerve agent could be easily synthesized, as it was in the case of terrorist attacks in Tokyo subway in Japan in 1995.
Precursors for sarin, tabun, and G-series agents are sources of fluorine, usually bifluorides. Ammonium or Sodium bifluoride for example, is absolutely a precursor (although it has some non-essential, legitimate industrial uses) For sarin, you must have a source of fluorine atoms, so it can be sensible to control export of bifluoride compounds. While alcohol is used, it’s like trying to control the production of beer by interdicting water instead of malted barley. While malted barley has many uses, it’s not essential and its major use is fermentation. Water meanwhile, is essential and ubiquitous.
The key precursors for organophosphates involve the donated fluorine; no fluorination, no organophosphate weapons. As a bonus the fluorine compounds used are dangerous, and imported/exported in much smaller quantities than alcohol. Without bifluorides, you can still have industry, medicine, etc. Without isopropyl you can’t even have hand sanitizer.
Blackbagboys: Oh for sure, it’s hard to imagine why there would be high demand for the most common disinfectant in a war zone. That’s incredibly suspicious, and clearly points to the production of sarin. (/s)
Come on, this blog isn’t talking about anything reasonable, it’s calling rubbing alcohol a CW precursor.
The mechanism behind organophosphate poisoning lies entirely in the phosphate part of the molecule. Among the enzymes present in the human body are a large class known as serine hydrolases. These enzymes hydrolyze chemical bonds in a wide variety of compounds (such as sugars, proteins, and lipids), and their function critically depends on a nucleophillic serine amino acid in the enzyme's structure. This serine attacks the bond to be hydrolyzed, freeing one half of the victim molecule and leaving the other half attached to the enzyme. Then water comes in and breaks the bond between the serine and the second half to restore the enzyme and in sum hydrolyze the original bond.
Organophosphate nerve agents act by entering the active site of a serine hydrolase. They are attacked by the active site serine to release a counterion (which depends on the specific nerve agent) and a phosphate ester of the enzyme. However, this enzyme ester can only be hydrolyzed extremely slowly-- the enzyme cannot be restored to its original form, and the entire enzyme is nonfunctional.
Now, the released counterion could be many things (it just needs to be something that will leave if pushed out by the hydrolase serine). On the other hand, it should not be too eager to leave like something like chlorine would be: if it was the potential nerve agent would be attacked by things like water before getting to the hydrolase, wasting the agent. Thus, a balance needs to be struck between something easy to displace but not too easy to displace. This gives the classic functional groups present in most nerve agents and organophosphate pesticides: fluoride, cyanide, thiols, and phenolates.
By the way, fluorides and fluoride minerals are virtually impossible to regulate trade in: they have a large variety of legitimate uses from toothpaste to aluminum production, and fluorspar is a fairly common mineral in the world. What is usually regulated instead are the phosphorus precursors such as phosphorus trichloride and red phosphorus as well as some chlorinating agents like thionyl chloride.
The only reason the wholesale disruption of hydrolases is not the thing that kills you with nerve agents is that acetylcholinesterase is particularly susceptible to organophosphates (wide open active site) and essential to nerve signal conduction. Thus although sarin (for example) will wreck most hydrolases in your body, this won't really matter when you'll be dead in a few minutes from your nervous system being unable to tell your lungs to breathe.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IDFP
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methoxy_arachidonyl_fluorophos...
For example many pesticides are organophosphates, yet have little effect on humans.
Sarin does, and the article is talking about sarin. Either way I’m sure you’d agree that isopropanol isn’t a precursor to sarin, yes? You’d also probably admit that you’re not getting methylphosphonyldifluoride from fucking toothpaste. Lecture about the mechanisms of organophosphates on AChE aside.
I would imagine getting bombed would increase demand for basic first aid kit componenents.
Did you account for the effect of trade sanctions on fluctuations of imports / exports?
I’m no world leader, but if I was subjected to trade sanctions and international scrutiny I’d get critical health supplies in large enough quantities in case they also stop trading those with me in the future.
Tons of isopropanol were destroyed in Syria by UN workers when trying to destroy all chemical weapons and precursors.*
*https://www.armscontrol.org/files/Panel2.1_Anelli_TuckerConf...
The flip side is sending antiseptics such as isopropanol to a war torn country is akin to humanitarian aid.
Hell, even thionyl chloride (still tons of legit uses) is more of a red flag than IPrOH.
Something is definitely a bit goofy about this blog. Not saying attacks didn't happen, it's just that, from a chemical production point of view, iPrOH is a really odd choice to look at.
I know of at least one tech company that compiles photos of the attacks, geo and time stamped, and the photos are beyond disturbing.
There is a reason Assad’s government blocked inspectors from examining the latest claimed attack.
> There is a reason Assad’s government blocked inspectors from examining the latest claimed attack.
That did not happen.
Counterpoint: It did happen. Only the country currently propping up the regime's genocidaires with all-out military support is claiming it was unspecified 'militants' who blocked the inspectors.
Actually, it's UN personnel that blocked the inspection from happening because it was them who came under attack and thus declared the situation too dangerous for the inspection team [0]. Neither Syria nor Russia had anything to do with preventing that inspection from happening.
[0] https://www.opcw.org/fileadmin/OPCW/EC/M-59/en/ecm59dg02_e_....
Is the Washington Post & OPCW lying?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/chemical-weapons-coveru...
I assume you believe that since you also apparently believe Russian and Syrian claims that a volunteer search and rescue organization that's helped thousands of people is really made up of terrorists generating false flag stories. And by the downvotes you aren't the only one.
Though I also see you don't have any response to the fact that over 70 chemical weapon attacks have been reported.
I would also point out that this whole chemical weapons debate is an emotional dog whistle. Somehow we accept dropping 1000lb barrel bombs loaded with shrapnel on civilians, but the addition of chlorine makes it inhumane? Come on, it’s mass slaughter in Syria, and chemicals doing the bulk of the damage are high explosives and incendiaries.
Let’s be honest with ourselves and each other, and accept that we either care about this, or don’t. Don’t buy into narratives that somehow it only matters when gas is involved. The important considerations have to do with the degree of killing (which is huge) and what we feel we can do about it at an acceptable cost (very little). We should be honest about why we’re hysterical about Syria (Russia) and almost totally ignoring Yemen (Saudi Arabia).
No. They say "On Thursday, the United States said it had credible information to suggest that Syria and Russia were working to delay the OPCW mission..."
No one is lying and nevertheless this article is no more than those photos with people with masks (possibly oxygen masks). All that was said that US claims that it have some evidence to suggest. There are nothing was said that OPCW claims the same and WP itself doesn't claim anything about Syria.
There was nothing said that those "credible information" is not the one that we do not have, maybe it is just a common sense: if Syria claims control over the area, that any delays for OPCW are from government?
All the article is just random informational noise saying nothing. All the US claims was predictable a priory, article adds nothing to those predictions. It means zero information.
To find truth you should read carefully even when you read scientific article which is written in a way to be plain. But when you read media-news, you need to be very careful and to read every word.
"The United Nations Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) has made the necessary arrangements with the Syrian authorities to escort the team to a certain point and then for the escort to be taken over by the Russian Military Police. However, the UNDSS preferred to first conduct a reconnaissance visit to the sites, which took place yesterday. FFM team members did not participate in this visit.
On arrival at Site 1, a large crowd gathered and the advice provided by the UNDSS was that the reconnaissance team should withdraw.
At Site 2, the team came under small arms fire and an explosive was detonated. The reconnaissance team returned to Damascus."
The decision to delay the FFM team's visit wasn't made by Syrian or Russian authorities, but by the UN personnel tasked with protecting said FFM team. On Saturday they did finally conduct their FFM and took samples, so there's that.
That was also quite a while ago, they've been cooperating with OPCW on destroying all their stocks and production facilities for these last years, as evident by the OPCW progress reports.
I just can't see any scenario where using these kinda of weapons would be advantageous for the Syrian government, at least in the current situation. At this point, the war in Syria is pretty much decided, what's happening right now is mostly clean-up.
The US just declared to get out of there, Trump set up another "red line" and then the Syrian government just decides "Hey, let's do this thing that gives them justification to keep intervening and cross that red line before the paint dries!", it just doesn't add up, they gain nothing from this.
What evidence might that be?
Information on funding: https://twitter.com/BenjaminNorton/status/879036821954539520
Pulitzer prize winning journalist Seymour Hersh responded to attacks by Bellingcat here: https://www.alternet.org/media/seymour-hersh-syria-bombshell
Also, I'm a big Seymour Hersh fan but unfortunately he got made to look foolish with that article. Lots of what he said was implausible from the start and his major thesis have been globally dubunked. I suspect he was for once fed some bad sources.
Robert Fisk, also a highly respected journalist, was the first Western journalist to visit Douma after the recent bombing. His report casts doubt on the claims about what happened in Syria that led to the UK, US, and France to bomb without waiting for evidence. See https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/syria-chemical-attack-g...
I've read reports that doctors who spoke to the press had been intimidated and threatened if they verified the attack story[2]. The people in the video don't look intimidated to me, but I'm no expert.
I'm personally on the fence on this one, and haven't read in-depth either. But it's mighty strange to me seeing Fisk and a conservative cable news network on the same page on a mid-East controversy!
1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9w8j-avq_0
2: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/17/syria-crisis-m...
> Medics and survivors who have remained in Douma, and others who have fled for northern Syria, ridiculed competing claims that the attack either did not take place, or did not use gas.
Isopropyl alcohol is not a chemical weapon precursor, just like water isn’t a cyanide gas precursor.
Is doing a lot of work in that sentence. Ethanol is an alcohol, enjoy a lovely drink. Methanol is an alcohol, try not to to drink it. Alcohol is an incredibly broad family and the scheduled substance (Pinacolyl alcohol: 3,3-Dimethylbutan-2-ol) is not isopropyl alcohol. It’s not even close. It’s also not a precursor to sarin, but soman.
Notice that isopropanol isn’t scheduled at all, so I feel justified in asking if you were just confused or trying to be sneaky?
Oh and by the way, most alcohol hand sanitizers are 70% isopropyl alcohol, not ethanol.
It is not the choke-point in that reaction either, while DF is. It also requires a trivial amount of easily produced or smuggled rubbing alcohol to make enough sarin to kill everyone in Syria. Isopropyl alone gets you nothing, and is easy to store and move around. Meanwhile...
Methylphosphonyl difluoride is both reactive and corrosive. It is absorbed through skin and causes burns and mild nerve agent symptoms. It reacts with water producing HF fumes and methylphosphonic acid as a result. It is also capable of corroding glass. It has a boiling point of only 55.4 °C at normal atmospheric pressure, and thus a fairly high vapor pressure at room temperature.
There’s a reason that Methylphosphonyl difluoride is class 1 controlled chemical weapons precursor, and you can buy rubbing alcohol anywhere.
That’s a precursor to everything - you might as well say: “we don’t like you so you’re not allowed to have industry”
Regulating "precursors" to chemicals is probably a bad idea in general.
Also 'sarin use' was added 19 April. And the guy added it to the introduction, but it was removed later with the comment "... dangerous molecules are often in part made from everyday chemicals as components."
Maybe they could ban shoe laces as they are used by the Assad regime, or maybe they could ban H2O since that could be used for making everything from sarin to nuclear weapons, hat would teach them.
It is also interesting how this internet is connecting people with lies rather than people.
(If it isn't obvious, yes, I know. I use it to teach people to be critical to what they read.)
[1]https://m.gulfnews.com/news/mena/syria/amid-war-in-syria-has...
I use this very dangerous sarin precursor everyday as a hand sanitizer.
http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=isopropyl&d=ComTrade&f=_l1Cod...
According to the United Nations, Syria imported 1,916,504 kilograms of "Propyl alcohol and isopropyl alcohol" in 2010, 1,705,420 kilograms in 2009, 926,139 kilograms in 2008, and so on...