Assad’s collapse triggers race to find missing chemical weapons
In 53 years of Assad family rule, Syria’s government made chemical weapons by the ton, from giant vats of World War I-era mustard gas to nerve agents so deadly that just a few drops could kill. But by far the most worrisome Syrian weapons of mass destruction are the ones that simply disappeared.
The list of the missing is long. It includes, according to an audit by international weapons inspectors, more than 360 tons of mustard gas that Syria admitted making but has never been fully accounted for. Then there’s the five tons of missing precursors for the nerve agent sarin — enough poison to fill a small swimming pool. When pressed, Syrian officials offered an excuse that seemed laughably absurd.
“Lost during transportation, due to traffic accidents,” the Syrians said, according to notes from a confidential 2016 investigation obtained by The Washington Post.
What happened to those chemicals — at least some of which are suspected to have been hidden away for future use — is a suddenly urgent question in the wake of last week’s takeover by Syrian rebels. In a country with no governing authority, and with terrorist groups such as the Islamic State roaming its lawless eastern deserts, securing whatever chemicals remain has become a top priority not only for Syria’s neighbors but also for countries around the world.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/politics/government/assad-s-collapse-triggers-race-to-find-missing-chemical-weapons/ar-AA1vLiua
