Ronald,
Putin is just stating his opinion and guessing on the mindset of Assad or elements within the Syrian forces. Yes it is utter madness for such an attack but what if Putin is incorrect?
Ask yourself how much control does Assad actually hold? Who is pulling the strings behind the scenes and what about rogue elements within the armed forces? What if that rogue element carried out the chemical attacks without Assad actually ordering it? Assad as a puppet figure head could be sitting there blissfully unaware that it was elements of his forces that launched the attacks and he is being told that it was the rebels. Either that or he now knows that it was his forces, can't or won't come clean, and is simply going along with the guidance of his advisers?
Snippets from Kerry's transcript
We know that for three days before the attack the Syrian regime’s chemical weapons personnel were on the ground in the area making preparations. And we know that the Syrian regime elements were told to prepare for the attack by putting on gas masks and taking precautions associated with chemical weapons. We know that these were specific instructions.
We know where the rockets were launched from and at what time. We know where they landed and when. We know rockets came only from regime-controlled areas and went only to opposition-controlled or contested neighborhoods.
We know that a senior regime official who knew about the attack confirmed that chemical weapons were used by the regime, reviewed the impact, and actually was afraid that they would be discovered. We know this.
And we know what they did next. I personally called the Foreign Minister of Syria and I said to him, “If, as you say, your nation has nothing to hide, then let the United Nations in immediately and give the inspectors the unfettered access so they have the opportunity to tell your story.” Instead, for four days they shelled the neighborhood in order to destroy evidence, bombarding block after block at a rate four times higher than they had over the previous 10 days. And when the UN inspectors finally gained access, that access, as we now know, was restricted and controlled.
In all of these things that I have listed, in all of these things that we know, all of them, the American intelligence community has high confidence, high confidence. This is common sense. This is evidence. These are facts.
Statement on Syria
The Senate and House will be presented with the classified brief. Putin is asking for the US to present that evidence to the UN Security Council. Under Bush junior they got it wrong with Iraq. What if Obama has it right in regards to events in Syria?