Syria's Chemical Weapons

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In The Media

Syria's Chemical Weapons

Syria is widely believed to possess weapons of mass destruction, in particular a large chemical weapons arsenal.

By Paul Schulte

Published on Dec 4, 2012

Source: BBC Wales

Carnegie's Paul Schulte spoke to BBC Wales about the situation in Syria, where 40,000 people have died since the uprising began in March last year. Schulte pointed out that it is very widely believed that Syria possesses weapons of mass destruction and that the United States claims to have sufficient intelligence on specific chemicals.

"It's most likely that they [Syria] have a quite large chemical arsenal because they have been doing this over a number of years, and even apparently in the last few months they have been trying to build up their stocks," Schulte said, adding that the chemicals in the arsenal would "be in different stages of preparation."

But the new news, Schulte pointed out, is that specific chemicals are being brought together to make an extremely modern and potent nerve gas called sarin. "We might be entering an endgame of a civil war in which atrocity becomes almost unavoidable because of the fear of reprisals," said Schulte, adding that "nobody is very attracted by the idea of getting drawn into a Syrian civil war."

To Schulte, the deployment of Patriot missile batteries along the Turkish border with Syria is about reassuring the Turks who "are in the front line of this very difficult situation." "It's a way of NATO emphasizing its solidarity," Schulte concluded.

About the Author

Paul Schulte

Former Nonresident Senior Associate, Nuclear Policy Program

Schulte was a nonresident senior associate in the Carnegie Nuclear Policy Program, where his research focuses on the future of deterrence, nuclear strategy, nuclear nonproliferation, cybersecurity, and their political implications.

Recent Work

Paper
Looking Beyond the Chicago Summit: Nuclear Weapons in Europe and the Future of NATO
- +2
  George Perkovich, Malcolm Chalmers, Steven Pifer, …
Other
Is NATO’s Nuclear Deterrence Policy a Relic of the Cold War?
- Paul Schulte

Nuclear Policy North America United States Middle East Syria

Carnegie India does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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