Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - Chemical Weapon used in Syria, Western military response likely

NBC · 08-24-2013, 10:22 AM

The nature of Syria's chemical weapons program has been a great mystery to international arms control and disarmament community for years. Very little is known about the regime's policy decisions, stockpiles, production facilities, dissemination/delivery systems and so on. Right now the international community is struggling to come to terms with these accusations of alleged use on both sides of the conflict and the only thing that is accepted is that something very nasty is happening in Syria.

Misinformation or "black propaganda" has been a prevalent theme throughout the history of chemical and biological weapons usage, from the Yellow Rain controversy to the Sverdlovsk incident to the Iran-Iraq War. Until something definitive is known, speculation as to what is happening in Syria is pointless. Much of the sensationalism and "demand for answers" is journalistic hype. My old research group has been inundated with phone calls for comments and interview requests on the Syrian CW allegations. Like I said, nothing definitive is known at this point and any commentator/academic/expert that I know is echoing this sentiment. Pointless speculation may sell newspapers but it rarely leads to the one thing that most people desire - the truth.

There are things that do not make sense when looking at the Syrian CW allegations, that is for certain. But one problem that many in the West have is that they (we) tend to view events in the Middle East through a western-oriented "lens." This was a major problem in the West's dealings with the former Baathist regime in Iraq and it is no different with Syria. Understanding a state's strategic culture and how they view themselves in their immediate region can usually go a long way to providing a more accurate and robust analysis of a current issue or threat. Sadly, this has been the exception as opposed to the norm.

I am attaching a link to a paper on the Syrian CW allegations. It is a bit long (42 pages) but it is the most accurate and comprehensive analysis of the current situation. My apologies for its length.

http://www.sussex.ac.uk/Units/spru/h...rs/HSPOP_4.pdf

08-24-2013, 10:22 AM	#99
NBC Account closed at user's request. Join Date: Jul 2009 Exp:	The nature of Syria's chemical weapons program has been a great mystery to international arms control and disarmament community for years. Very little is known about the regime's policy decisions, stockpiles, production facilities, dissemination/delivery systems and so on. Right now the international community is struggling to come to terms with these accusations of alleged use on both sides of the conflict and the only thing that is accepted is that something very nasty is happening in Syria. Misinformation or "black propaganda" has been a prevalent theme throughout the history of chemical and biological weapons usage, from the Yellow Rain controversy to the Sverdlovsk incident to the Iran-Iraq War. Until something definitive is known, speculation as to what is happening in Syria is pointless. Much of the sensationalism and "demand for answers" is journalistic hype. My old research group has been inundated with phone calls for comments and interview requests on the Syrian CW allegations. Like I said, nothing definitive is known at this point and any commentator/academic/expert that I know is echoing this sentiment. Pointless speculation may sell newspapers but it rarely leads to the one thing that most people desire - the truth. There are things that do not make sense when looking at the Syrian CW allegations, that is for certain. But one problem that many in the West have is that they (we) tend to view events in the Middle East through a western-oriented "lens." This was a major problem in the West's dealings with the former Baathist regime in Iraq and it is no different with Syria. Understanding a state's strategic culture and how they view themselves in their immediate region can usually go a long way to providing a more accurate and robust analysis of a current issue or threat. Sadly, this has been the exception as opposed to the norm. I am attaching a link to a paper on the Syrian CW allegations. It is a bit long (42 pages) but it is the most accurate and comprehensive analysis of the current situation. My apologies for its length. http://www.sussex.ac.uk/Units/spru/h...rs/HSPOP_4.pdf