What is an assertion?

What are some alternative hypotheses to the assertion that the Syrian government used chemical weapons on it's citizens?

• For example, could the evidence we have seen in the news media been manipulated by any of the interested parties? Or, what might be some alternative framings of the incident that would shed light on the complexities of the situation?

• Answer:

  I think one alternative hypothesis is that the attack might not have been ordered by the Syrian government, but was done by some in the military, but not under direct orders.  Foreign Policy magazine raised this specific issue. >>>>But the intercept raises questions about culpability for the http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/08/21/us_intelligence_official_finds_chemical_weapons_allegation_credible, even as it answers others: Was the attack on Aug. 21 the work of a Syrian officer overstepping his bounds? Or was the strike explicitly directed by senior members of the Assad regime? "It's unclear where control lies," one U.S. intelligence official told The Cable. "Is there just some sort of general blessing to use these things? Or are there explicit orders for each attack?>>>>> http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/08/27/exclusive_us_spies_say_intercepted_calls_prove_syrias_army_used_nerve_gas Possibly Kerry addressed this issue about the nature of the intercepted phone calls in his speech though. http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/hollande-france-ready-to-act-against-syria/2013/08/30/8a439b2a-1167-11e3-b4cb-fd7ce041d814_story.html The reporters who wrote this AP story also who don't see the evidence as being conclusive that the strikes were ordered by Assad as also... >>>>>A report by the Office of the Director for National Intelligence outlining that evidence against Syria includes a few key caveats — including acknowledging that the U.S. intelligence community no longer has the certainty it did six months ago of where the regime's chemical weapons are stored, nor does it have proof Assad ordered chemical weapons use, according to two intelligence officials and two more U.S. officials>>>>> http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ap-sources-intelligence-weapons-no-slam-dunk http://www.scribd.com/doc/164267580/U-S-Government-Assessment-of-the-Syrian-Government%E2%80%99s-Use-of-Chemical-Weapon (I edited my answer and am still trying to read and learn as much as I can like everyone else, I apologize if anyone voted this up and now wishes they had not.)