Will Syria keep its poisonous chemical weapons? Illustrative. Photo courtesy of Mr James Brabenec (IMCOM)
Here’s an ironic twist—one of the very countries that sold the chemical weapons to Syria years ago could end up being the one that’s supposed to destroy them. Think you can trust Russia to really do the job?
And that’s assuming Syria actually is honest about removing the weapons from their country.
The Daily Telegraph reported that four different nations—including France and Belgium—have now refused to destroy Syria’s chemical weapons. It is after all, a dangerous job. One expert, Ralph Trapp, told the Telegraph that he expects Russia will end up doing the dirty work.
I smell trouble—Russia is a long-time friend of the Syrian regime and is believed to have sold chemical weapons in the past to them. At best, that’s ironic. At worst, maybe the Russians will offer them back at a discount.
Of course, that’s presuming that Syria even allows all the weapons of mass destruction to be removed from their country. CNN reported earlier this month that US intelligence suspects the Syrians may try to hide some of the weapons.
While the US hadn’t decided either way as of the time of the report, one official was quoted by CNN as saying, “They have done things recently that suggest Syria is not ready to get rid of all their chemical weapons.”
The official said there are pieces of information that “would shake our confidence.” When we’re talking about chemical weapons that can kill many in horrific ways, that American concern should shake your confidence, too.
(By Joshua Spurlock, www.themideastupdate.com, November 19, 2013)