WMD Victory in Syria

Some very good news has come from a very bad part of the world today. Syria’s operational chemical weapons arsenal is no more. Officials in the Syrian port of Latakia loaded the very last shipment of the declared stockpile onto a Danish freighter and sent them off for destruction at sea.

A sprawling complex that for decades produced weapons capable of killing millions has, in 9 months and to the surprise of many, been systematically dismantled and virtually eliminated.

There are lingering questions and concerns – including possible undeclared weapons and facilities still to be destroyed – but the United States, using a negotiated agreement, an international network of inspectors, the involvement of some 30 nations, and an initial threat of the use of force, has just wiped out one of the two largest remaining chemical weapon arsenals in the world. North Korea is likely the only nation left with operational stockpile on this scale.

Full article by Joe Cirincione and Geoffrey Wilson available on Defense One.

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