Israeli officials say Assad believed to have up to 3 tons of chemical weapons
The Hill
April 19, 2017
Senior Israeli defense officials on Wednesday said that the military of Syrian President Bashar Assad is believed to have as much as three tons of chemical weapons, despite a 2013 agreement ordering the country to dispose of it's stockpiles, the Associated Press reported.
The state of the Syrian government's chemical weapons program has been the subject of fierce scrutiny in recent weeks, after a deadly chemical attack in northern Syria earlier this month killed more than 80 civilians.
A senior Israeli military official told the AP that Assad's military is believed to possess between one and three tons of chemical weapons.
Assad has fervently denied that Syria was responsible for carrying out the chemical attack, asserting that the government no longer possess chemical weapons and would not use them even if it did.
More:
http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/329543-israeli-officials-assad-believed-to-have-to-3-tons-of-chemical
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Last edited Wed Apr 19, 2017, 07:34 PM - Edit history (2)
Three tons is a large amount, but if it represents the total Assad has left, even if it is three tons (they said "as much as"
, it is about .2% of what he once had. I think a lot of fact checkers owe Obama, Kerry, Rice et al an apology - especially as the Obama team had said of known or declared CW. When questioned, they unapologetically admitted there could be more.
Consider how unstable Syria is and how much damage 1300 tons stored all over the country would have been.
Consider that Trump's strikes at most scared Syria into not using it again - but 3 weeks is not a good test. In addition to actually getting rid of 1300 tons, Syria did not use the listed chemical weapons again while Obama was President.
