The international group responsible for destroying Syria's nerve gas stockpile (OPCW) has declared it gone. Syria is the first nation to ever voluntarily surrender a declared chemical weapons stockpile while at war. The announcement was met with guarded approval from US and European officials. There is a UN report that chloride gas has been used in the civil war now tearing Syria apart. Chlorine is widely available and is not considered a weapon of mass destruction, but its use as a weapon of war is banned under international law. Chlorine gas was used by both sides in WWI. The West believes Syria is refusing to destroy chemical weapons infrastructure, and suspects Syria has failed to declare secret stockpiles. Of course the Syrian government has a major credibility problem, but so does the Unites States and Britain. They steadfastly maintained at the UN that Saddam Hussein was harboring weapons of mass destruction (WMD) after more than a decade of economic sanctions. After finally invading the country in 2003 on the pretext of eliminating WMD, none was found.
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| credit: UK Guardian |
A confirmed use of sarin by the Assad regime at al-Ghouta killed about 1400 Syrians
[photo]. Russia helped broker a big power agreement that halted Washington's plans for military intervention--the infamous "red line"
{Red Line Crossed in Obama's Mind, 31.08.13}. The agreement succeeded in eliminating Syria's nerve gas weapons. The last consignment of 1,300 metric tons of declared precursors and nerve agents where loaded Monday onto a Danish ship at Latakia. Those will be transported to the
MV Cape Ray where the chemicals will be hydrolyzed at sea. The diluted waste will then be shipped to facilities in Britain, Germany, Finland and United States for incineration. The agreement is not perfect, as the chlorine loophole demonstrates. An OPCW fact-finding mission concluded that "toxic chemicals, most likely pulmonary irritating agents such as chlorine, have been used in a systematic manner in a number of attacks." The Unites States blames Assad and not the rebels it is supporting* for using chlorine. It wants the UN Security Council, which has the legal authority to command compliance, to be in charge of Syria's chemical weapons program because the OPCW works on a consensus basis. Russia maintains its ally should be treated like any other country requesting assistance from OPCW. These discussions are taking place in the Hague. Analysts believe complete elimination of all chemical agents and facilities will not be achieved before 2015. Syria is resisting the destruction of chemical weapons storage facilities, parts of which it wants to preserve for commercial enterprises.
*Current Occupant has asked Congress for $500 million to support what he calls "moderate" rebels in Syria. Jihadists including ISIS and the al-Nusra Front are predominant among rebel groups fighting the Assad regime for three years now. Tens of thousands have died in Syria's civil war; three million have fled the country. The money if appropriated will guarantee its prolongation. As the experience in Iraq demonstrates, channeling aid only to those you agree with is not foolproof in a time of war.