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Reports from Syria claiming that chemical weapons have killed as many as thousands of
civilians in Damascus have shocked the world. At this time we don't know exactly what's
happened because although these pictures are devastating, its not been confirmed at this
point who exactly is responsible for the attacks. There is countries, including the UK and France
who are urging the UN to undertake a thorough investigation but this relies on UN weapons
inspectors being given access. But what potentially could they find and what do we actually know
about chemical weapons?
Well according to popular definition, a chemical weapon is a toxic chemical contained in something
which can transport it to its intended target such as a bomb or a missile. They can also
be sprayed.
However the Chemical Weapons Convention has a much broader definition. They apply the
term to any toxic chemical or its precursor that can cause death, injury, temporary incapacitation
or sensory irritation through its chemical action. The devices designed to deliver the
weapons, whether filled or unfilled, are also considered weapons. The toxic component is
called its chemical agents based on how they penetrate and effect the body chemical agents
are divided into several categories; choking, blister, blood, nerve and riot control agents.
The CWC keeps a definition of chemical weapons broad for various reasons mainly because many
chemicals are used widely for commercial and non-violent purposes for example as herbicides
or insecticides. Therefore chemicals like this are considered chemical weapons if they
are produced and stockpiled in amounts greater than are needed for commercial use. But as
they can be used in the formation of chemical weapons the CWC definition needed to be as
comprehensive as possible to address any potential threats posed by such chemicals.
So where did chemical weapons start? The modern use of chemical weapons started in the first
world war. Both sides used poisonous gases in weapons by putting commercial chemicals
like chlorine into grenades and artillery shells. They caused nearly 100,000 deaths.
Since World War One chemical weapons have caused more than one million casualties globally.
In 1925 after the horror of World War One the Geneva Protocol was signed which prohibited
the use of chemical weapons in warfare. But it was quite a limiting agreement as it did
not prohibit the development, production, or stockpiling of chemical weapons. It also
allowed nations that were part of the protocol to use prohibited weapons against states that
were not or to use them in retaliation. During the Cold War the United States and the Soviet
Union gathered huge stockpiles of chemical weapons, which according to the CWC was enough
to destroy much of the human and animal life on Earth. Iraq used chemical weapons in Iran
during the war in the 1980s and also used mustard gas and nerve agents against Kurds
in the Halabja massacre in Northern Iraq in 1988. They also pursued offensive biological
weapon capabilities from 1985 until the 1990s. Iraq's chemical weapon capabilities suffered
massive damage during the 1991 Gulf War and by 1995 UN inspectors had mostly completed
the verification and destruction of its chemical stocks and equipment. And of course one of
the reasons given for the 2003 invasion of Iraq was the supposed belief that the country
had VX, Sarin and mustard gas among other weapons of mass destruction that according
to Bush and Blair it had successfully concealed from the United Nations. In 1997 the Chemical
Weapons Convention came into play, an arms control agreement which outlaws the production,
stockpiling and use of chemical weapons.
189 nations, that's about 98% of the global population, have joined the CWC that leaves
7 nations who have not ratified or signed up to the chemical weapons convention. Israel,
Syria, North Korea and Egypt are among them.
According to the Swedish defense research agency, Israel has an advanced chemical weapons
program capable of producing nerve agents, mustard gas, riot control and even binary
nerve agents. Syria on the other hand refuses to announce its chemical weapons program until
Israel abandons its nuclear weapons and has allegedly received direct assistance from
Russia, China, Iran and North Korea in developing its weapons of mass destruction.
The country is suspected of having one of the most advanced chemical warfare capabilities
in the Middle East. According to the nuclear threat initiative Syria appears to have the
capability to develop and produce agents including Mustard Gas and Sarin and possibly also VX
nerve agent. It's been claimed that chemical weapons agents have been produced since the
1980s in the Aleppo region.
Syria needs the help of other nations for the precursor chemicals and Iran has been
identified as the source. Syria also possesses the military hardware capable of delivering
the warheads, If you've got questions about any of this you can drop them in the comments
below and check out the videos we've made on the alleged chemical attacks in Syria on
the left here. We'll see you again next time.