al-Assad still maintains a stockpile of chemical weapons, despite U.S. assurances
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad still maintains a stockpile of chemical weapons, despite assurances by U.S. officials that he gave them all to Russia.
A report by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons details how the chemical watchdog has repeatedly found traces of deadly chemical agents such as soman and VX. The report states that the results from 122 samples taken across Syria “indicate potentially undeclared chemical weapons-related activities,” and that Syria’s explanations “are not scientifically or technically plausible.”
In 2012, Obama declared that if Syria used chemical weapons, it would be crossing a “red line” that would warrant action by the United States. al-Assad called Obama’s bluff, and within a year there were confirmed reports of Syria using chemical weapons against its own people. Despite calls for action from NATO and a number of American allies, our feckless president back away from his “red line” and instead made a deal with the Syrians: al-Assad would have to give his chemical weapons to Russia.
John Kerry boasted that the deal removed “100%” of Syria’s chemical weapons.
The report by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons is especially embarrassing for the United States, because another, entirely separate, United Nations report scheduled for release next week is expected to detail how the Syrian regime has made attacks with chemical weapons.
This news represents yet another clear signal that Obama’s foreign policy has been weak, incoherent, and ineffectual.
