FAS In-Depth: June 8, 2012

FAS In-Depth: June 8, 2012

Syria and Weapons of Mass Destruction

With the recent insurgency, Syria's revolution will likely be an unpredictable, protracted, and grim affair. If Syrian President Bashir al-Assad is removed from power, what will happen to Syria's arsenal of chemical weapons, which could potentially fall into the hands of terrorists? In an article in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Charles P. Blair, Senior Fellow on State and Non-State Threats, writes that the international community should focus on Syria's weapons of mass destruction. Syria has one of the most sophisticated chemical weapon programs in the world, and it is suspected that they have an active biological weapons program. Syria signed the Biological Weapons and Toxins Convention in 1972, yet has never ratified the treaty. Additionally, at least six formal terrorist organizations have long maintained personnel within Syria. Three of these groups -- Hamas, Hizbollah, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad -- have already attempted to acquire or use chemical or biological agents, or both. The United States and its allies need to start planning now to keep Syria's WMD out of the hands of terrorists, should the revolution continue. To read the article click here. For more information on Syria and WMD, check out these FAS resources and more on our website. FAS Blogs: Strategic Security Blog Weapons: Syria Special Weapons Syrian Nuclear Science Bibliography: Open Literature Citations Review of Syria's Missile Strategy Syria: Most Advanced in Arab World in Chemical Weapons Terrorist Intelligence Operations Biological Weapons Convention: Compliance with the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BWC) Biological Weapons Convention Congressional Research Service Reports: Syria: Unrest and U.S. Policy Syria: U.S.Relations and Bilateral Issues Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Weapons and Missiles: Status and Trends Nuclear, Biological, Chemical, and Missile Proliferation Sanctions: Selected Current Law Terrorism and National Security: Issues and Trends Proliferation Control Regimes: Background and Status Terrorist Motivations for Chemical and Biological Weapons Use: Placing the Threat in Context Other Resources: Unclassified Report to Congress on the Acquisition of Technology Relating to Weapons of Mass Destruction and Advanced Conventional Munitions (DNI) Strategic Culture: Refining the Theoretical Construct (DTRA)