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Chemical Attacks Persist as 2013 Syrian Chemical-Weapons Deal Fails
(Wall Street Journal) Farnaz Fassihi - The chemical attack that killed dozens and injured hundreds more in Syria on Saturday again exposed the failure of international efforts to hold accountable those responsible for chemical-weapons violations. At the UN Security Council, the U.S. circulated a draft resolution to set up a new independent panel to investigate the chemical attacks in Syria. A mandate for the previous one expired in January after Russia vetoed a one-year renewal of its work. Russia's ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, denied there had been a chemical attack in Douma on Saturday. He said Americans had trained fighters to stage chemical attacks to create conditions for U.S. military strikes. Russia has used its veto 11 times to block UN action on Syria, including five vetoes on chemical-weapons violations.