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Israeli Intelligence: "Assad Has Not Been Deterred from Using Chemical Weapons Again"

(Ynet News) Ronen Bergman - The U.S.-led attack on Syria's chemical weapons facilities will not deter President Assad, according to Israeli intelligence assessments. Israeli defense officials estimate that Assad kept 5-10% of his chemical weapons stockpiles after the signing of an agreement to disarm Syria of its chemical weapons in September 2013, and he has been making attempts to hide what's left. After President Trump began making threats last week of an imminent strike, the Syrians made additional efforts to scatter and hide planes, launch vehicles and munitions. Israel estimates that since the signing of the 2013 agreement, Syria has used chemical weapons in about 100 instances, with 100 additional inconclusive cases. Assad has reportedly used sarin and mustard gas in these attacks. He is believed to be saving VX, the most lethal chemical weapon in his possession, as a "doomsday weapon." He also makes frequent use of chlorine, which was not included in the 2013 agreement. Only some of the chemical weapons facilities known to Israel were destroyed in the U.S.-led attack. The fact that there were no reports of chemicals leaking following the strikes serves to bolster assessments that the major stockpiles haven't been hit, and Syria's ability to drop these chemical weapons on their targets has hardly been compromised.
2018-04-18 00:00:00
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