Syria acknowledges its chemical weapons

As Syrian rebels gain ground in fierce fighting, the Syrian government has acknowledged its stockpiles of chemical weapons (CW) ? by announcing that they will not be used against Syrians, only foreign invaders.

However, the regime has insisted that the rebellion, which began over a year ago, is the work of foreigners. Ironically, the only known plans for foreign troops to engage Syria are to secure the CWs.

Leonard Spector of the Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Washington DC told a US Congressional committee last week that in a recent military exercise, the US and 18 other nations, and "more than 12,000 participants" rehearsed ways to "prevent the transfer of chemical arms out of Syria".

Syria is thought to possess between 500 and 1000 tonnes of mainly mustard gas and the nerve gas sarin. A stolen shell set off in a city "could wreak havoc", Spector warned. He added that a sudden collapse of the regime could make it difficult to establish who controls the CWs.

So-called "retroactive verification" that nothing has been spirited away "will be very difficult, since we do not have a reliable baseline for Syria", says Andreas Persbo, head of VERTIC, a verification research organisation based in London.

Foreign powers should now "negotiate international monitoring and security arrangements" for the CW sites, Spector said, starting by assuring the current guards that they will be rewarded for staying at their posts if the current regime falls. Any new government must renounce CWs, he added, though he admitted the current government acquired them as a deterrent against nuclear-armed Israel, a situation that still exists.

"There is no guarantee that a post-Assad government would accede to the treaty banning CW," agrees Persbo ? especially if it inherits an existing supply.

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