Syria meets deadline... Reuters

"Syria has destroyed or rendered inoperable all of its declared chemical weapons production and mixing facilities, meeting a major deadline in an ambitious disarmament program, the international chemical weapons watchdog said Thursday. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which won the Nobel Peace prize this month, said its teams had inspected 21 out of 23 chemical weapons sites across the country. The other two were too dangerous to inspect, but the chemical equipment had already been moved to other sites that experts had visited, it said. Syria "has completed the functional destruction of critical equipment for all of its declared chemical weapons production facilities and mixing/filling plants, rendering them inoperable," it said, meeting a November 1 deadline for the work. The next target date is November 15, by when the OPCW and Syria must agree to a detailed plan of destruction, including how and where to destroy more than 1,000 metric tons of toxic agents and munitions."  Reuters

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Well, well, well.  What a disppointment for Obama, Cameron, Natanyahu, Hollande, Erdogan, etc. 

What will be said next?

- Syria did not declare all its facilities?

- Syria is concealing some of its pre-cursor chemicals or munitions?

I can hardly wait to see what it will be.  pl

 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/31/us-syria-crisis-chemical-idUSBRE99U08N20131031

 

Comments

[Tony]

"Well, well, well. What a disppointment for Obama...". I thought Obama wanted Syria's chemical weapons dismantlement to save face. Even for Israel, a weak Syria is better than Jihadis. Apparently I was wrong.

[Ishmael Zechariah]

Colonel Lang,

Whatever these liars say from now on should be suspect. However I am afraid that there maybe more than enough gullible folks around who believe them. Honorable Turks know firsthand that the so called "democratic" erdogan is a prevaricator and a kleptocrat,as well as a (barely-hidden) islamist in search of the caliphate.

I can only comment on one other: Obama used to be a Chicago Machine pol. I am, thus, amazed, those who claim veracity for him and his. Were the sainted Mike Royko still around, he could have reeducated us on the characteristic of that breed.

Ishmael Zechariah

[turcopolier]

tony

Obama's policy in Syria is regime change. He failed to line up enough votes in Congress for military action so he accepted Russian mediation but his policy is to get rid of Assad. Most Israelis know you are right but Bibi is a nutjob. pl

[different clue]

For Israel, even a strong Baath Syria is better than Jihadis. And a strong Baath Syria without chemical weapons is far better for Israel than an
Islamic Emirate of Jihadistan with all the chemical weapons. It might well be better for KSA
too, though they don't seem to see that.

[different clue]

I wonder if the next step would be blaming Assad if the rebels deny access to the chem weaponsites under rebel control. If that doesn't work, I wonder if no country with
chemical neutralization facilities will accept the Syrian chemicals and precursors . . . in order to blame Assad for that, too.

[Kunuri]

Albayim,

The whole Syria game has been one about reducing its power as a threat to Israel. Chemical weapons of Syria was one regardless of who actually used them. Mission accomplished. No longer a threat over Golan or Lebanon. Cihadis in Syria are now somebody else's problem.

The best victory is the one you achieve without actually fighting a battle.

[Kunuri]

And, Bibi is crazy like a fox, as we used to say in High School...

[turcopolier]

kunuri

You much overestimate Bibi as an actor in this drama. He has completely misjudged the situation and his scheming against Syria threatens to bring into being a jihadi regime that will be a far greater danger to Israel than the Baath government ever was. He is not "crazy like a fox." He is an obsessed nationalist fanatic. His influence in the US is much diminished. pl

[r whitman]

What did Putin promise Assad in return for giving up chemical weapons? I suspect he secretly offered to extend the Russian nuclear umbrella over Syria. That does not help the Israelis.

[turcopolier]

r. Whitman

No. He wants to remain in the game. pl

[Fred]

I'm wondering if Putin will ask to see Prince Bandar's chemical weapons sites next. Surely the Nobel Peace Prize recipient wont'.

[Bill H]

Not to worry about the loss of chemical weapons as a lever to manipulate the US into military action, CBS News is now hyperventilating about the Iranian Republican Guard actively fighting in Syria in behalf of Assad and how effective that has been in tipping the scales against the "popular revolt." US forces will simply have to be used to offset the deadly awesomness of the Iranian assistance.

[Kunuri]

Sure he misjudged the Jihadi peril, Assad's endurance, and the lack of resolve on the part of US and the rest of the world to interfere directly in Syria, just like everyone else did.

Jihadi's resurgence in Syria surely is and will become a huge problem for Israel in the future, but also for Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey and others.

Just a couple of weeks ago Turkish police apprehended 10 vehicle born ready to go bombs in Southeastern Turkey, traced back to "extremist elements" in Syria. I even think those bombs may have been intended to be intercepted as a message, a challenge, a demonstration of potential for extracting a price on Turkey if things don't go Jihadi way.

I think Bibi maybe calculating far more support from his neighbors and international community in dealing with a future/present Jihadi problem than he received about the Syrian chemical weapons. So in conclusion, he maybe seeing his diminishing influence as a fair trade off for first neutralizing Syrian Army as a potential threat to Israel, then deal with the Jihadis with support from the rest of the world once their menace start to spill over to other countries.

And yesterday, Israel hit missile sites in Syria with ease, and with no fear of aerial defenses and retaliation from Syria.

[Babak Makkinejad]

Col. Lang:

You were right and it did not take too long:

http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/10/31/exclusive_syria_tries_to_hold_on_to_its_chemical_weapons_factories

[Medicine Man]

With sincere respect Kunuri, I think you make Col. Lang's point for him. If Bibi has misjudged the three things you mention in your first paragraph, then he has seriously misjudged the situation.