Publicado el 07-14-2012
The Situation in Syria is Becoming More Dangerous
On Friday, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Syrian government has started moving parts of its huge stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, but it is not know if it is doing this as a precaution because of the situation in the country, practically a civil war, or if it has other intentions.
Some analysts believe that perhaps President al-Assad is considering the use of chemical weapons against the rebels that are attacking the government’s security forces in an effort to topple him. But what seems most probable is that these weapons are being taken out of areas where attacks have become heavier to prevent that they fall into the hands of the rebels.
It was well known that over the past thirty or forty years, Syria has amassed a huge stockpile of chemical and biological weapons, including mustard gas and cyanide. Now, satellite imagery has shown that the chemical weapons are being moved from where they were stocked, although it is not known exactly where they are going.
This Saturday, in an extensive report, the New York Times said that Jeffrey White, a former Defense intelligence officer who now studies Syria at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, commented that if the munitions were being deployed to firing units, this would suggest that preparations were being made to use them. If they are being taken to secure sites, it would be to increase their security. White said that moving the chemical weapons could be dangerous if the government convoys were attacked by the rebels.
These new events confirm the dangerous situation that exists in the Near East with the conflict in Syria, which is an ally of Iran and where Russia has an important naval base in the Mediterranean.
The Western governments should try every diplomatic resource to reach a solution to the Syrian conflict, perhaps persuading al-Assad to leave a transition government and go out of the country. Any effort that can be made to avoid an explosive situation with the intervention of Iran or Russian in the problem should be done, and it must be done as soon as possible. Circumstances so demand.
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