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U.S. Intelligence: Assad Failed to Disclose More than Ten Chemical Weapons Sites
(Bloomberg) Josh Rogin and Eli Lake - Officials from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons told the Obama administration early this year that its inspectors had found traces of sarin and VX nerve agent during an inspection of the Syrian government's Scientific Studies and Research Center near Damascus. The administration is said to have not yet decided about how to respond. One administration official said the discovery confirmed long-held suspicions inside the U.S. government that Syria was not completely forthcoming when it declared its chemical weapons in 2013. U.S. officials said the Assad regime was informed of the discovery and subsequently barred OPCW inspectors from returning to the facility. Former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn said his assessment was that Assad was concealing many chemical weapons sites and most likely still has chemical weapons capability. "It's nearly impossible to confirm that Syria got rid of all their chemical weapons," he told us. "Their track record is not one of full compliance on anything." A senior intelligence official told us that the U.S. has intelligence indicating that more than ten of Assad's suspected chemical weapons sites had not been disclosed.