As we prepare to conclude the destruction of the chemical weapons Assad has turned over to the West, Assad retains the ability to use chemical weapons. Somehow I just know this will be in the State Department annual report for 2014 as a 90% success.
Behold:
Syria maintains an ability to deploy chemical weapons, a senior Western diplomat has said, citing intelligence from Britain, France and the United States.
"We have some intelligence showing, that they have not declared everything", a senior diplomat told the Reuters news agency, adding that a "substantial" part of the chemical weapons programme was hidden.
Yeah. I think I mentioned that possibility:
[We] won't really know if Assad provides a comprehensive listing, will we? Or is it late enough for Kerry to trust Lavrov on this?
And not to beat a dead horse, but if Saddam shipped chemical weapons or raw materials to Syria before, during, and even after we captured Baghdad, Assad might not count those "off the books" chemicals, eh?
And it seems as if Assad can still produce chemical weapons, notwithstanding the agreement that supposedly stripped Assad of this capability:
Syria maintains an ability to deploy chemical weapons, diplomats say, citing intelligence from Britain, France and the United States that could strengthen allegations Syria's military recently used chlorine gas in its bloody civil war.
The result is that despite shipping out 90% of Assad's declared chemical weapons stockpiles (including raw materials):
"We are convinced, and we have some intelligence showing, that they have not declared everything," a senior Western diplomat told Reuters, adding that the intelligence had come from Britain, France and the United States.
When asked how much of its program Syria has kept hidden, the diplomat said: "It's substantial." He offered no details.
I know:
Yeah, I mentioned the production of new chemical weapons angle, too, in my post above:
What about raw materials to make chemical weapons? If Assad really does get rid of all chemical weapons, having the means of production just allows Assad to make sure he has the freshest WMD available in the future.
In light of Assad's possible use of chlorine gas recently (while noting the possiblity that rebels could have done the deed), I also noted the possiblity of dual-use raw materials:
And, Oh! say the Assad people, you thought that kind of poison gas is included? We thought it was dual use and since it has a civilian purpose in agriculture (and really, aren't the food shortages bad enough without doing this to poor, suffering Syria?) it really didn't count... But okay, give us a few months to write up this list for you. If only you'd been more clear from the beginning, you see.
The second article even repeats the ridiculous notion that our threatened "unbelievably small" strikes compelled Assad to give up his chemical weapons.
In fact, this deal has bought time for Assad to defeat the rebellion by interrupting our support for the rebels and buying time for Iran and Russia to bolster Assad. With the deal time frame winding up, Assad still has chemical weapons capability and is stronger than he was in the fall of 2013 when the deal was signed.
On the bright side, Assad was not able to make good on his promise to deliver a knock-out blow to the rebellion during this period. As we begin to arm and train the rebels, this may merely be an unfortunate distraction into the realm of unsmart diplomacy that only delays the defeat of Assad's government.
Truly, our chief diplomat's intellect is dizzying.
