It must be a coincidence that every time Trump or someone in his administration talks about leaving Syria there’s a chemical weapons attack.

On Saturday, April 7, video and stories claiming a chemical weapons attack in Douma were broadcast. The US State Department immediately declared that “the Assad regime must be held accountable” and Russia “ultimately bears responsibility” for it.

However, there’s been no investigation and the claims of an attack come from the usual propagandistic suspects. The evidence consists of statements and videos from the White Helmets, and Syrian American Medical Society. Both organizations receive significant funding from the US and British governments and are not neutral aid organizations. They both call for US intervention in Syria.

From the way back machine we recall that one year ago, in April 2017, there was another so-called chemical weapons attack, at Khan Sheikhoun, that was blamed on the Syrian government. This so-called attack brought Trump’s cruise missile fusillade, causing the corporate media to go into an orgasmic rapture. What so remarkable is that immediately before the 2017 chemical incident, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said U.S. policy was no longer focused on getting Assad out.

Now we have the incident in Douma. The armed opposition, i.e. al Qaeda, is in retreat. They are losing the war and are desperate. They have tried since 2012 to pressure the U.S. and NATO to intervene directly on their side.

Going further, the rebels have access to chemical weapons in East Ghouta and they have a powerful motive to stage a false flag attack, to incriminate Syria, and by extension Russia.

These so-called chemical attacks are not occurring in a vacuum. Since Trump’s surprise victory there’s been a very determined campaign to demonize Russia.

It’s coincidental that the very same thing happened with the questionable attack in Britain.

Days after an alleged poisoning of an ex-spy in Salisbury, the UK’s Foreign Office was telling reporters that Russia would be held responsible. Anyone who questioned such proclamations was branded unpatriotic. Now, we learn that laboratory forensics had still attached no such culpability, while there’s been a plethora of contradictory theories about what happened and how.

In the homeland, Mueller’s raid of Cohen’s office has liberals in thrall.

However, I find the timing of Mueller raiding Trump’s personal lawyer’s office more than a little suspicious, coming as it did right after the Syria announcement. Perhaps the deep state is trying to send a message?

You don’t have to be a conspiracy theorist to observe that strange things are happening in the Beltway as various factions vie for control.

One faction, composed of the intelligence agencies, the neoconservative wings of the Democratic  and Republican parties, and the corporate media, has been consistently hostile towards Trump’s call for a less interventionist foreign policy and detente with Russia. The reason for this, I’m convinced, is that behind the scenes, there is an entrenched foreign policy establishment determined to maintain and reclaim U.S. unilateral “leadership” of the world. Right now they are freaking-out because the U.S. is losing influence, prestige and power around the world.

Now they want to attack Syria, and by extension nuclear-armed Russia.

God help us all.

Update: Caitlin Johnstone’s on the same page:

“So quick recap:

One year ago, the Trump administration transgressed establishment Washington orthodoxy by asserting that it was no longer pursuing regime change in Syria as a priority. Days later, there were contested reports of a sarin gas attack in Idlib province which killed dozens of civilians. This was immediately responded to by a missile strike on a Syrian airbase without any investigation. After the strike, UN Ambassador Nikki Haley was trotted out, saying that removal of Assad had just become a US priority.

Flash forward to this year.

Two weeks ago, Trump was openly talking about wanting to get US troops out of Syria “like, very soon,” as soon as 48 hours by some reports. As we all know, this was followed by another disputedreport of a chemical attack on civilians, which was followed by another military strike on the Syrian government. And, just today, none other than Nikki Haley was trotted out to inform us that US troops will be staying in Syria for the foreseeable future.”