This essay examines historical and historiographical issues surrounding a text of contested provenance.

The identity of its author, editor and publisher are not only contested, but were the subject of high-profile UK legal proceedings.1 Though the text, an email, centres on an international situation now largely dependent on US foreign policy decisions, this story weaves threads from the US, UK, Syria, Iran, Singapore, Malaysia and Qatar; it is a quintessentially transnational narrative.

The email in question was purportedly sent on Christmas Eve 2012 between two employees of a British defence company, and discusses moving a chemical weapon into Syria with Washington's approval. If it is genuine, it is evidence of US complicity in a chemical weapons plot in Syria in 2013. That there was a chemical weapons attack in Syria on August 21, 2013 might be seen as circumstantial evidence of the document's authenticity; it certainly re-contextualises the text dramatically. If the email is a fabrication, it is anti-US counter-intelligence propaganda of impressive sophistication and unnerving prescience. Either way, it is an interesting document whose further examination should prove illuminating of contemporary issues of transnational history and historiography.

The Presidency of Syria has resided with the Al-Assad family for 42 years. 2 Since the Arab Spring of April 2011, Syria has been the site of armed rebellion; an asymmetrical conflict between the military forces of the Baathist Assad Government, and disorganised or loosely organised resistance paramilitary groups, that has claimed more than 100,000 lives. 3 A UN rights panel found evidence that both Government and rebel forces had committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. 4 A recent Washington Post article charts the geographic extent of more than 17 separate ethnic groups
1 Halliday, Josh. Daily Mail in 100,000-plus payout over Syrian chemical weapons story, The Guardian Wednesday 26 June 2013, retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/jun/26/daily-mail-syrian-chemical-weaponslibel 2 Zisser, Eyal. Bashar al-Asad and his Regime- Between Continuity and Change, Orient, Vol. 45, No. 2 (June 2004), pp. 239-256 3 CNN Library, CNN Fast Facts, CNN, August 30, 2013 Retrieved from: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/27/world/meast/syria-civil-war-fast-facts/index.html 4 Cumming-Bruce, Nick, U.N. Rights Panel Cites Evidence of War Crimes by Both Sides in Syria, The New York Times, September 11, 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/12/world/middleeast/united-nationspanel-cites-evidence-of-war-crimes-in-syria.html

in the region, each with its own stake in the conflict. 1 In addition to having these interests arrayed against it, the Assad Government has the opposition of the US Government to contend with.2

The US began secretly funding anti-Assad opposition groups in 2005 and continues to do so. 3 There are conflicting reports as to whether this support extends to the provision of weapons. 4 On August 20, 2011, US President Obama delivered the red line speech, suggesting that the US would intervene militarily in Syria, should the Syrian Government use, or even move, its chemical weapons arsenal.5 A leaked email from a US defence contractor, of December 2011, suggests that US and allied Special Forces were already on the ground in Syria at that time, and that their ongoing strategy was to foment the downfall of the Assad Government by staging destabilising paramilitary operations.6 John Pilger, in The Guardian, explains that Syria has been a US target for some time: the US intends to crush the last independent states in the Middle East: Syria first, then Iran. "This operation [in Syria]," said the former French foreign minister Roland Dumas in June, "goes way back. It was prepared, pre-conceived and planned."7

Al-Ghouta is an agricultural suburb east of Damascus, Syria, and has for some time been beyond
1 Fisher, Max, The one map that shows why Syria is so complicated, The Washington Post, August 27, 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/08/27/the-one-map-that-shows-whysyria-is-so-complicated/ 2 Regarding the current Syrian situation, John Pilger recently wrote in The Guardian: The great unmentionable is that humanity's most dangerous enemy resides across the Atlantic. [ie. The USA]. Pilger, John, The silent military coup that took over Washington, The Guardian, September 11, 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/10/silent-military-coup-took-over-washington 3 Whitlock, Craig, U.S. secretly backed Syrian opposition groups, cables released by WikiLeaks show, The Washington Post, April 18, 2011. Retrieved from: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/us-secretly-backed-syrianopposition-groups-cables-released-by-wikileaks-show/2011/04/14/AF1p9hwD_story.html 4 Hosenball, Mark, Exclusive: Obama authorizes secret U.S. support for Syrian rebels, Reuters, August 1, 2012. Retrieved from: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/01/us-usa-syria-obama-order-idUSBRE8701OK20120801 5 Ball, James, Obama issues Syria a red line warning on chemical weapons, The Washington Post, August 21, 2012. Retrieved from: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/obama-issues-syria-red-line-warning-onchemical-weapons/2012/08/20/ba5d26ec-eaf7-11e1-b811-09036bcb182b_story.html 6 The email specifically mentions guerrilla attacks and assassination campaigns. It goes on to discuss international support for future military action against Syria. France, she writes, is gung-ho, the UK reluctant. Bhalla, Reva, INSIGHT - military intervention in Syria, post withdrawal status of forces, Wikileaks, March 6, 2012. Retrieved from: https://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/1671459_insight-military-intervention-in-syria-postwithdrawal.html; On the background to this email release, see Ball, James, WikiLeaks publishes Stratfor emails linked to Anonymous attack, The Guardian, February 27, 2012. Retrieved from: http://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/feb/27/wikileaks-publishes-stratfor-emails-anonymous 7 Pilger, John, The silent military coup that took over Washington, The Guardian, September 11, 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/10/silent-military-coup-took-over-washington

control of the Assad Government. Around 3 on the morning of Wednesday August 21, 2013, AlGhouta was the site of the world's deadliest poison gas attack incident in 25 years. 1 The attacks killed between 281 and 1729 people.2 This incident constitutes a grave war crime and crime against humanity under international law.3

Responsibility for the attacks are the subject of much dispute. The central question, as far as Western corporate media is concerned, is whether the Assad regime is responsible, the alternative being anti-government rebel forces. Human Rights Watch attribute responsibility to the Government.4 Similarly, the US administration are claiming there is no doubt that the Syrian Government is responsible for the attacks.5 The BND, the German intelligence service, as well as the Assad Government itself, categorically claim that the Syrian Government was not responsible. 6 While presently a diplomatic solution offers the potential to forestall or preclude the need for US and allied military intervention, Pilger in the Guardian suggests such intervention is in fact inevitable.7 Either way, the Al-Ghouta attacks feature centrally in the case being made for US military intervention in Syria, which, as is demonstrated above, has long been a US intention.

The email in question, from December 2012, seems to foretell the Al-Ghouta attack, and suggests it
1 Spencer, Richard & Blair, David, Syrian 'poison gas attack' would be worst use of nerve gas in 25 years, The Telegraph, August 21, 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10257916/Syrian-poison-gas-attack-would-be-worstuse-of-nerve-gas-in-25-years.html 2 Agence France-Presse (AFP), France says 'at least 281' killed in Syria chemical attack, The Daily Star Lebanon, September 2, 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Sep-02/229697-francesays-at-least-281-killed-in-syria-chemical-attack.ashx#axzz2ecULfxnT ; Bodies still being found after alleged Syria chemical attack: opposition, The Daily Star Lebanon, August 22, 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Aug-22/228268-bodies-still-being-found-after-alleged-syriachemical-attack-opposition.ashx#axzz2chzutFua 3 Borger, Julian, Syria: chemical attack evidence points to Assad, claims human rights group, The Guardian, September 10, 2013 Retrieved from: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/10/syria-chemical-attack-assad 4 Borger, Julian, Syria: chemical attack evidence points to Assad, claims human rights group, The Guardian, September 10, 2013 Retrieved from: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/10/syria-chemical-attack-assad 5 Condon, Stephanie, Biden: "No doubt" Assad responsible for Syria chemical weapons attack, CBS News, August 27, 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57600306/biden-no-doubt-assad-responsible-forsyria-chemical-weapons-attack/ 6 Tisdall, Simon & Le Blond, Josie, Assad did not order Syria chemical weapons attack, says German press, The Guardian, September 9, 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/08/syria-chemicalweapons-not-assad-bild 7 Pilger, John, The silent military coup that took over Washington, The Guardian, September 11, 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/10/silent-military-coup-took-over-washington

was a false-flag operation approved and supported by the US Government. The message is purportedly from David Goulding, Business Development Director at Britam Defence Ltd, to Philip Doughty, Director of the same company and former member of the British Special Forces.1

Phil, weve got a new offer.

Its about Syria again. Qataris propose an attractive deal and swear that the idea is approved in Washington. Well have to deliver a CW to Homs, a Soviet origin g-shell from Libya similar to those that Assad should have. They want us to deploy our Ukrainian personnel that should speak Russian and make a video record.

Frankly, I dont think it is a good idea but the sums proposed are enormous. Your opinion?

Kind regards,

David2

The implication is quite clear; UK newspaper the Daily Mail's resultant article was headlined U.S. 'backed plan to launch chemical weapon attack on Syria and blame it on Assad's regime'. 3 The text was published online by a hacker known only as JAsIrX in January 2013, as part of the file Britam.Defence.rar.4 That archive file also included an introductory note from JasIrX and information proving the text's connection to the company's penetration, such as contracts and scans
1 Gadher, Dipesh, Iran faked British chemical weapons plot, The Sunday Times, February 3, 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/uk_news/National/article1206917.ece 2 JasIrX [ed.], Sirian Issue.eml, Britam.Defence.rar. Retrieved August 28, 2013 from: http://www.edisk.cz/stahni/28320/Britam.Defence.rar_324.56MB.html 3 Boyle, Louise, U.S. 'backed plan to launch chemical weapon attack on Syria and blame it on Assad's regime', Mail Online, The Daily Mail,January 29, 2013 (deleted). Retrieved from: http://web.archive.org/web/20130129213824/http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2270219/U-S-planned-launchchemical-weapon-attack-Syria-blame-Assad.html#ixzz2edJCAvfC 4 JasIrX [ed.], Sirian Issue.eml, Britam.Defence.rar. Retrieved August 28, 2013 from: http://www.edisk.cz/stahni/28320/Britam.Defence.rar_324.56MB.html

of the passports of company employees. Britam Defence conceded it had been subject to electronic attack but claimed that that email was fabricated.1

The aforementioned Daily Mail article of January 29 2013 was subsequently the subject of libel proceedings by Britam Defence: the case was settled by Associated Newspapers for 110,000 in June 2013.2 The Daily Mail published a retraction and conceded both in it and in court that the email in question had been fabricated.3 A Sunday Times article provides the singular technical evidence of this fabrication, though it is unclear if this or any other evidence of fabrication was presented in court prior to the case being settled.4

The evidence is as follows; the published archive, Britam.Defence.rar, contained two email documents, and included the message metadata, code generated by computers to process delivery of the email. Experts examined this metadata and found an anomaly the two emails, which were sent months apart were sent at exactly the same time of day, down to the second, 23:57:18. This observation cannot be accounted for by typical email delivery procedures. For Britam, and possibly for Associated Newspapers, this constitutes categoric proof of fabrication.5

If Britam.Defence.rar is a fabrication, it is one of the most sophisticated literary and propaganda efforts of recorded history. The case for the archive's inauthenticity must grant its forgery an unprecedented cultural, technical and conceptual sophistication. Its perfect use of idiomatic native English and military vernacular alone is surely a rare capacity for the intelligence services of Middle Eastern nations other than Israel.6 The fabrication also depends on the documented
1 Gadher, Dipesh, Iran faked British chemical weapons plot, The Sunday Times, February 3, 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/uk_news/National/article1206917.ece 2 Halliday, Josh, Daily Mail in 100,000-plus payout over Syrian chemical weapons story, The Guardian, June 26, 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/jun/26/daily-mail-syrian-chemical-weapons-libel 3 Mail Online, Britam Defence, David Goulding and Philip Doughty, The Daily Mail, April 18, 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/article-2311199/Britam-Defence-David-Goulding-Philip-Doughty.html 4 Correspondence with the relevant Guardian journalist remains unanswered. 5 Gadher, Dipesh, Iran faked British chemical weapons plot, The Sunday Times, February 3, 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/uk_news/National/article1206917.ece 6 This aspect alone seems to put it beyond the capacity of the Syrian Electronic Army, whose recent tweets include "Wow, Please some attention to the world new-Sherlock Holmes." Retrieved from:

electronic penetration of Britam, a multinational defence and security contractor to the UK military, itself surely an operation of considerable technical sophistication.

Not only is the fabrication culturally and technically, but also conceptually, sophisticated. The delivery is nuanced, and rests happily with an implication, rather than direct statement or the manufacture of more compelling evidence. The idea of a false false-flag is itself a surprisingly convoluted confection; its plausibility in this case depending on a critical reading of the modern history of US foreign policy. Finally and most astonishingly, the email appears to correctly predict not only a chemical weapons attack in Syria in 2013, but one that would be put to strategic use by the United States.

Questions that this argument leaves unresolved are how and why an operation of such apparent sophistication would stumble at such an elementary hurdle as the identical send times of two fabricated emails; and also, why would anyone consider an operation of this sort and of this level of sophistication a wise use of its resources? While it would surely constitute an unrivalled propaganda achievement, the construction of a baroque narrative framing an opponent for an illegal imaginary attack on a neighbouring country and then supporting it with a genuine electronic attack would have to constitute the most indirect warfare possible.1

A Sunday Times article blames Iran for the fabrication. 2 Iran's reputation for a formidable electronic warfare capacity lends this suggestion credence,3 though no available evidence suggests Iran's intelligence services possess the requisite cultural sophistication or propaganda capacity.

https://twitter.com/Official_SEA16 1 An unsourced comparable anecdote has the cold war KGB calculating that the US mail made a slight loss on parcels of a certain weight, and for this reason occupied themselves mailing house bricks across the country in an effort to slowly drain the nation's coffers. 2 Gadher, Dipesh, Iran faked British chemical weapons plot, The Sunday Times, February 3, 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/uk_news/National/article1206917.ece 3 Torbati, Yeganeh, Iran says capable of jamming foes' communication systems, Reuters, January 15, 2013. Retrieved from: http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/01/15/iran-military-idINDEE90E0DF20130115

The alternative, that the document is genuine, is more shocking yet. If the email is genuine and, as circumstances suggest, refers to the Al-Ghouta attacks, the US was at least complicit in the massacre they are using to justify military intervention in Syria. This scenario casts the US as responsible for a chemical weapons massacre and knowingly invading a country under false pretences. Lest these seem unlikely prospects, we can say at least that the US has a recent history of doing both of those things.

In 1962 the US Military planned to invade Cuba under false pretences. Operation Northwoods was a proposal made by the US Joint Chiefs of Staff to the Secretary of Defense on 13 March 1962, in a then top secret document entitled "Justification for U.S. Military Intervention in Cuba".1 The proposal calls for the US to perform paramilitary actions in Cuba that can be blamed on the Cuban Government as a pretext for US military intervention in Cuba. The plan never came to fruition, it was rejected by President Kennedy.2

In 1964 the US knowingly invaded Vietnam under false pretences. The second Gulf of Tonkin incident took place on August 4, 1964. The USS Maddox and Turner Joy, two US naval destroyers, were (some say provocatively) patrolling the waters off the northern coast of Vietnam in heavy seas. Having engaged North Vietnamese torpedo boats two days prior, the crew of the vessels apparently erroneously became convinced they were under attack, and battled invisible and imaginary opponents for two hours, claiming to have sunk two enemy torpedo boats. Even after this error became apparent to the US administration, the supposed incident was used as a pretext for launching the Vietnam war.3

1 Joint Chiefs of Staff, Memorandum for the Secretary of Defense: Justification for US Military Intervention in Cuba, US Department of Defense, March 13, 1962. Retrieved from: http://www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/news/20010430/northwoods.pdf 2 Lansdale, Brig. Gen., Memorandum for the Record: Meeting with President, Office of the Secretary of Defense, March 16, 1962. Retrieved from: http://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/viewer/showDoc.do? absPageId=49622 3 Cohen, Jeff & Solomon, Norman, 30-year Anniversary: Tonkin Gulf Lie Launched Vietnam War, Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting, July 27, 1994. Retrieved from: http://fair.org/media-beat-column/30-year-anniversarytonkin-gulf-lie-launched-vietnam-war/

In 2003 the US knowingly invaded Iraq under false pretences. A 2008 US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence found that the Bush administration's stated pretext for invading Iraq, the presence and threat of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons, was false. In making the case for war, the Administration repeatedly presented intelligence as fact when in reality it was unsubstantiated, contradicted, or even non-existent. As a result, the American people were led to believe that the threat from Iraq was much greater than actually existed.1

These three examples demonstrate the willingness of successive US administrations to use false pretences to justify foreign military intervention. To further establish the plausibility of the email's constructed narrative of US complicity in Syrian chemical weapons attacks, we now turn to examples of the use of Weapons of Mass Destruction by the US military.

Between 1962 and 1971, the US killed 400,000 people by chemical warfare. The sentimental names of Operations Ranch Hand and the broader Trail Dust evoke the US wild west. In fact, Operation Ranch Hand was a chemical warfare campaign waged by the US military between 1962 and 1971 in South Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. That operation killed 400,000 people, caused 500,000 children to be born deformed, and poisoned over 5 million acres of land.2

Depleted Uranium is used in some military munitions, making them radiological weapons. The United Nations proscribed the use of these Depleted Uranium munitions as weapons of mass destruction.3 In three weeks in 2003, coalition forces expended between 1,000 and 2,000 tonnes of Depleted Uranium munitions in Iraq.4 Recent medical studies conclude that the allied use of
1 US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Senate Intelligence Committee Unveils Final Phase II Reports on Prewar Iraq Intelligence, US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, June 5, 2008. Retrieved from: http://www.intelligence.senate.gov/press/record.cfm?id=298775 2 Russia Today, Selective obscenity: US checkered record on chemical weapons, Russia Today, August 30, 2013. Retrieved from: http://rt.com/news/us-chemical-weapons-portnaya-152/ 3 UNHCR, Depleted Uranium UN Resolutions, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 1999. Retrieved from: http://www.prop1.org/2000/du/resource/000310un.htm 4 Brown, Paul, Gulf troops face tests for cancer, The Guardian, April 25, 2003. Retrieved from:

radiological weapons have absolutely destroyed the genetic integrity of the population of Iraq, leaving the town of Fallujah with the highest rate of genetic damage in any population ever studied.1 The US and UK continue to use Depleted Uranium munitions.2

The use of incendiary munitions against or around civilians is prohibited by the Geneva Convention and the UN Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons which may be deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to have Indiscriminate Effects.3 The US is signatory to both of these conventions. The use by US forces of incendiary White

Phosphorous munitions in Iraq in 2004, and the resultant civilian casualties are not disputed. 4 Some claim this was an illegal US operation constituting a violation of international law. 5 The US claims that the use of those munitions was strictly incendiary, not chemical, and that the US is not a signatory to the protocol governing the use of incendiary weapons.6

These examples establish the precedent of the US engaging in WMD warfare, and knowingly invading other countries under false pretences. In so doing, they suggest a plausibility to the email's constructed narrative; that the US staged a false-flag chemical weapons attack to invade Syria under false pretences. The most politically conservative conclusion we can draw from the available evidence is that Britam.Defence.rar is the product of a sophisticated Iranian disinformation campaign which appeared to predict a chemical weapons attack in Syria only by coincidence. Whether we choose to adopt this interpretation, or to opt for a less comfortable one of US
http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/apr/25/internationaleducationnews.armstrade 1 Russia Today, Selective obscenity: US checkered record on chemical weapons, Russia Today, August 30, 2013. Retrieved from: http://rt.com/news/us-chemical-weapons-portnaya-152/ 2 BBC, US to use depleted uranium, BBC News, March 18, 2003. Retrieved from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/2860759.stm 3 United Nations, Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons which may be deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to have Indiscriminate Effects, December 2, 1983. Retrieved from: http://treaties.un.org/pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XXVI-2&chapter=26&lang=en 4 CBC News, U.S. official admits phosphorus used as weapon in Iraq, CBC News, November 16, 2005. Retrieved from: http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2005/11/16/phosphorus-fallujah051116.html 5 Popham, Peter, US forces 'used chemical weapons' during assault on city of Fallujah, The Independent, November 8, 2005. Retrieved from: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/nov/22/usa.iraq1 6 Monbiot, George, Behind the phosphorus clouds are war crimes within war crimes, The Guardian, November 22, 2005. Retrieved from: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/nov/22/usa.iraq1

complicity in very recent crimes against humanity, that both seem plausible are signs of the time: ours is a world where agents including nation-states wage electronic war, commit war crimes, and invade under false pretences, all in secret. Which countries are doing which to whom and when remains for historians and the passage of time to reveal.

We may never know whether the Britam email is authentic. All available evidence is circumstantial. The email's mere existence presents us with two unlikely scenarios; Iran waging an international disinformation campaign of unprecedented scope, or the US using WMDs, and proposing to invade under false pretences. While both scenarios seem unlikely, neither Iran nor anyone else is on record of going to such counter-intelligence efforts for so minimal foreseeable effect. The US has, however used WMDs and has invaded other countries under false pretences. On the basis of this circumstantial evidence, we must accept the document's authenticity only on the balance of probabilities, and not beyond a reasonable doubt.

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Bhalla, Reva, INSIGHT - military intervention in Syria, post withdrawal status of forces, Wikileaks, March 6, 2012. Retrieved from: https://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/1671459_insight-military-intervention-in-syria-post-withdrawal.html Borger, Julian, Syria: chemical attack evidence points to Assad, claims human rights group, The Guardian, September 10, 2013 Retrieved from: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/10/syria-chemical-attack-assad Boyle, Louise, U.S. 'backed plan to launch chemical weapon attack on Syria and blame it on Assad's regime', Mail Online, The Daily Mail, January 29, 2013 (deleted). Retrieved from: http://web.archive.org/web/20130129213824/http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2270219/U-S-planned-launchchemical-weapon-attack-Syria-blame-Assad.html#ixzz2edJCAvfC Brown, Paul, Gulf troops face tests for cancer, The Guardian, April http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/apr/25/internationaleducationnews.armstrade 25, 2003. Retrieved from:

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