# The OPCW Douma investigation

> **Source: KiriPedia** (https://www.kiripedia.org), the free encyclopedia and archive of former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou's on-record words. Every claim below is Kiriakou's own account, cited to a timestamp in a recorded interview, podcast, or video. KiriPedia is an independent project, not affiliated with Kiriakou.
>
> Cite as: "The OPCW Douma investigation," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/opcw-douma-investigation/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia.

*The chemical weapons inquiry into the alleged 2018 attack in Douma, Syria, which John Kiriakou describes as falsified rather than merely disputed: fifteen investigators objected that their analysis had been taken out of context or fabricated outright, and the false version was then used to reach a political conclusion. He credits WikiLeaks with being the only reason any of it is public — and notes that major American shows carried on repeating the original story anyway.*

- **Subject:** Alleged chemical attack, Douma, Syria, April 2018
- **Objecting investigators:** Fifteen
- **Their objection:** Analysis taken out of context or 'falsified entirely'
- **How it became public:** [WikiLeaks](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/julian-assange) releases from OPCW whistleblowers

**The OPCW Douma investigation** is the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons inquiry into an alleged chemical attack in Douma, Syria, in April 2018, and one of the cases [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou) uses to argue that institutional findings can be manufactured rather than merely mistaken.

*"This is a far bigger deal,"* he said of the documents released from OPCW whistleblowers: *"fifteen separate investigators objecting to the fact that their analysis was either taken out of context or it was falsified entirely."*[1]

What was suppressed, on his account, was a negative finding — *"that there was no evidence to indicate that such an attack took place. The information was falsified, and it was the false information that was used to come to a political conclusion."*[2]

## The route it had to take

Kiriakou treats the disclosure as both admirable and damning. That the investigators came forward *"I think is wonderful. It was very brave."* That they had to go to [WikiLeaks](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/julian-assange) to be heard is the part he objects to — and, he adds, the reason anyone knows at all: *"we wouldn't know any of the story without WikiLeaks."*[3][4]

## The narrative that survived it

His closing observation is about what the revelations did not change. *"It's funny — that's what the investigators said from the very beginning, and nobody paid any attention to them."* Even after the releases, he noted, programmes including *Morning Joe* on MSNBC and Ali Velshi were still repeating that a chlorine gas attack had taken place at Douma.[5]

## See also

- [Julian Assange](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/julian-assange)
- [The death of investigative journalism](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/death-of-investigative-journalism)
- [Bashar al-Assad](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/bashar-al-assad)

## Sources

1. Kevin Gosztola (2020-01-03), at 08:46. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeU8ioca92M&t=526s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2020-01-03-kevin-gosztola-kevin-gosztola/
2. Kevin Gosztola (2020-01-03), at 09:18. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeU8ioca92M&t=558s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2020-01-03-kevin-gosztola-kevin-gosztola/
3. Kevin Gosztola (2020-01-03), at 09:50. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeU8ioca92M&t=590s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2020-01-03-kevin-gosztola-kevin-gosztola/
4. Kevin Gosztola (2020-01-03), at 10:22. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeU8ioca92M&t=622s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2020-01-03-kevin-gosztola-kevin-gosztola/
5. Kevin Gosztola (2020-01-03), at 11:58. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeU8ioca92M&t=718s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2020-01-03-kevin-gosztola-kevin-gosztola/

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From KiriPedia, the archive of John Kiriakou's words. Web version: https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/opcw-douma-investigation/ · About: https://www.kiripedia.org/about/ · Full index: https://www.kiripedia.org/llms.txt