As to the future of Syria’s vast chemical weapons stockpiled in sites around the country it is anyone’s guess? Who can say for sure what will happen, should the US succeed in ousting the President and imposing regime change in Syria? Will these chemical weapons be stolen, moved, or even used if the Assad regime collapses by al-Qaeda forces who have managed to infiltrate the armed Syrian opposition forces and are conducting suicide and target assassinations in the country as we speak.
Its hard to say for sure? That itself is also a problem.
One thing that is clear is al-Qaeda fighters have formed their own brigades and vowing to take over the entire country in their bid to establish yet another Islamic caliphate. Much like they did in Libya with US support and backing.
See disturbing video: Al-Qaeda brigades founded in Syria http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m17BUyjBdTI and ألقاعدة ÙÙŠ سوريا Al Qaida in SYRIA 3-01-2012http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rG6rarq9U_M
US official deny al-Qaeda is part of the rebel movement it is helping to arm and equip in some cases…but that is another story. The fact is the US has no good plan on what to do if Syria collapses, the military loses control or if Al-Qaeda manages to steal chemical weapons from one or all of the more than 50 suspected sites in that country .
It is not even on the Pentagon’s radar screen at this point or something they are even thinking about the real possibility of these weapons falling into the hands of al-Qaeda. The whole focus has been on ousting Assad at all costs…without knowing what will happen next?
The chemicals weapons in Syria include such thing as : CS, Tabun, mustard gas, sarin and possibly VX nerve agent, supplied either by the US and its allies or Russia decades ago. With respect to possible biological weapons in Syria is thesite at Cerin is also associated with a potential biological weapons research or production lab. Few details, of course are publicly known…
See Deadliest weapon : VX nerve gas http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkbBnvz0rw0&feature=related
This much is clear Syria is significantly dependent upon outside assistance for all of its WMD programs.
American diplomatic cables for example revealed that Indian firms had aided Syrian chemical and biological weapons makers with obtaining equipment. The cable reminded India that it "has a general obligation as a Chemical Weapons Convention State Party to never, under any circumstances, assist anyone in the development of chemical weapons" (see: US suspected Indian cos role in Iran N-plan http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-12-19/india/28252183_1_graphite-indian-firms-ballistic-missile
There have been reports trickling out that over the life of the Syria program that Syria has obtained significant assistance from various states, significantly Russia and France.
Russian General Anatoly Kuntsevich was suspected of smuggling VX precursors to nerve gas for research purposes. The materials shipped to Syria were intended for the production of the Soviet/Russian version of the VX nerve agent (code-named Substance 33 or V-gas.) Such a deal might have been made in the early ’90s or late ’80s during a visit to Syria by the then-commander of the Russian Chemical Corps, General Pikalov.
French support came in the form of pharmaceutical imports. In the early eighties, French companies provided an significant portion of pharmaceuticals imported by Syria. By the middle of the decade France provided nearly 1 quarter of pharmaceuticals coming into Syria. Certainly some of the imports were legitimate, but many were "dual use" items that could be directed to clandestine programs. In 1992 following French acceptance of the Australia Group, all exports became to be monitored for chemicals and equipment that could be directed to chemical and biological weapons programs (see: http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/syria/cw.htm
According to some intelligence analysts I’ve talked with there could be as many as “50 or more chemical weapons sites in Syria.” The US, should it invade Syria would need to safeguard all those facilities. That would take at least 50,000-80,000 soldiers to do it.” If the US bombs the sites that could also cause problems” said one air force intelligence officer at McConnell Air Force Base, who spoke on the condition of absolute secrecy.
Now the real fear is these weapons could fall into the hands of US backed rebels and armed al-Qaeda terrorists.
In recent testimony before Congress, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told members: “There is no identifiable group that would succeed him, and so there would be kind of a vacuum that would lend itself to extremists operating in Syria, which is particularly troublesome in light of the large network of chemical … weapon storage facilities.”
While chemical weapons were not specifically mentioned, the threat of these types of arms falling into the hands of extremists was certainly implied.
The problem is the US is attacking the Syrian government and bashing President Assad who is waging a epic battle to keep the country from sliding into chaos and civil war amid the thousand of NATO trained Libyan mercenaries and terrorists flooding across the border (see article: US helping to train and arm Islamic mercenaries to fight in Syria http://www.examiner.com/article/us-helping-to-train-and-arm-islamic-mercenaries-to-fight-syria#ixzz1spaxk03v
Robert Tilford
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