Securing Syria’s Stockpiles

“The United States and its allies are discussing a worst-case scenario that could require tens of thousands of ground troops to go into Syria to secure chemical and biological weapons sites following the fall of President Bashar al-Assad’s government,” Reuters reported last week.

Last week we examined the source of the massive stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons that are currently sitting in Syria. While precise quantities of the weapons are not known, it is widely accepted that the stockpiles do exist, and evidence suggest they contain remnants of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s wmds. Assuming the Assad regime doesn’t last much longer, these stockpiles could be in danger of falling into the wrong hands.

While Washington has maintained it will not put boots on the ground to intervene in Syria, it appears all options are on the table if a worst-case scenario over the fate of the biological and chemical weapons should ensue.

“The U.S. official said there were potentially dozens of chemical and biological weapons sites scattered around the country,” Reuters continued. According to U.S. officials, “Securing them could not be left to an aerial bombing, which could lead to the dispersion of those agents.” Given the volatile situation in Syria and uncertainty over potential weapons sites, over 50,000 troops on the ground would be necessary to secure the stockpiles, two diplomatic sources said.

As U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told cnn in July, Damascus has been keeping the wmds adequately secure—for now. “If they suddenly walked away from that, it would be a disaster to have those chemical weapons fall into the wrong hands, hands of Hezbollah or other extremists in that area,” he said.