Re: [CPEO-MEF] CHEMWEAPONS, GLOBAL: "West Faces Challenge in Moving Syrian Chemical Arms Through Battlefields"

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

The conundrum described in this article was entirely predictable. In  
fact, several of us predicted it. People don't like having chemical  
warfare materiel shipping through or to their communities, and  
parties who wish to seize such materiel love it.

Fortunately, the official disclosure of Syrian chemical weapons shows  
that they do not have any loaded chemical munitions. The stockpile  
can be left in place and destroyed with transportable treatment systems

The people making the decisions needs to consult with the experts who  
know how to get this done.

Lenny


On Nov 18, 2013, at 9:33 AM, Lenny Siegel wrote:

> West Faces Challenge in Moving Syrian Chemical Arms Through  
> Battlefields
>
> By DAVID E. SANGER, THOM SHANKER and ERIC SCHMITT
> New York Times
> November 17, 2013
>
> WASHINGTON - A plan announced over the weekend for getting the bulk  
> of Syria’s chemical weapons out of the country in coming weeks has  
> raised major concerns in Washington, because it involves  
> transporting the weapons over roads that are battlegrounds in the  
> country’s civil war and loading them onto a ship that has no place  
> to go.
>
> Security for the shipments is being provided entirely by Syrian  
> military units loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, who has  
> surprised American officials with how speedily he has complied with  
> an agreement brokered by Russia to identify and turn over his  
> chemical weapon stockpiles. Intelligence analysts and Pentagon  
> officials say the shipments will be vulnerable to attack as they  
> travel past the ruins of a war that has raged for two and a half  
> years.
>
> Asked over the weekend what the backup plan would be if the  
> chemical weapons components were attacked by opposition forces  
> linked to Al Qaeda, or even elements of Mr. Assad’s own forces, a  
> senior American official said: "That's the problem - no one has  
> attempted this before in a civil war, and no one is willing to put  
> troops on the ground to protect this stuff, including us."
>
> Another official noted that the choice now facing the United States  
> and other nations was to "either leave the stuff in place and hope  
> for the best, or account for it, get it out of there, and hope for  
> the best. That's the ‘least worst’ option."
>
> ...
>
> For the entire article, see
> http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/18/world/middleeast/west-faces- 
> challenge-in-moving-syrian-chemical-arms-through-battlefields.html
>
>
> ...
>
>
>
> For the entire article, see
>
>
>
>
> --
>
> Lenny Siegel
> Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
> a project of the Pacific Studies Center
> 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
> Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
> Fax: 650/961-8918
> <lsiegel@cpeo.org>
> http://www.cpeo.org
>
> _______________________________________________
> Military mailing list
> Military@lists.cpeo.org
> http://lists.cpeo.org/listinfo.cgi/military-cpeo.org

--

Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org

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