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Source: http://www.jpost.com/LandedPages/PrintArticle.aspx?id=324731
Understanding the Place of WMDs in Assad's War Strategy
(Jerusalem Post) Jonathan Spyer - It is a misrepresentation to claim that Assad is "winning" the war against the rebellion. The recent Qusayr and Khaldiyeh battles were about regime consolidation in the 40% of Syrian territory over which it rules. The rebels have been engaged in an offensive from the eastern suburbs of Damascus, of which eastern Ghouta forms a part, since July 24. The rebels were making slow headway into regime-controlled areas of the city. It would make perfect sense for Assad to attempt to drive the rebels out of eastern Ghouta and away from Damascus. The chemical attack appears to have formed part of the opening move of this offensive. Two Le Monde reporters, who spent two months in eastern Ghouta in April and May, revealed several earlier instances of attacks on the area in which chemical agents were employed. The French government tested materials brought out of the country by the reporters. Following these tests, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius concluded there was "no doubt" that the regime had "used sarin." Items tested by the British government similarly confirmed that sarin had been used. Assad has been using chemical weapons to kill his own civilians for quite a while now.