Syria and weapons of mass destruction
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Syria is believed to have an active program in chemical weapons.[1] [2] [3] Syria is not a signatory to the Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993, though it has denied that it has chemical weapons.[4]
Syria is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and maintains a civil nuclear program. The U.S. Government has said it is "convinced" that Syria has been building a "covert nuclear reactor" that is "not intended for peaceful purposes,"[5] though U.S. intelligence officials claimed low confidence that the site was meant for weapons development.[6] Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said the site hit was just "a military site under construction"[7] and that Syria's goal is a nuclear-free Middle East.[8]
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[edit] Chemical
Syria reportedly manufactures Sarin, Tabun, VX, and mustard gas types of chemical weapons.[9]
Syria is not a signatory to the Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993, one of seven nations to have rejected the CWC.
While Syria has not publicly admitted to its chemical weapons program, Syrian officials have stated that they feel it appropriate to have some deterrent against Israel's similarly non-admitted nuclear weapons program when questioned about the topic.
Independent assessments indicate that Syrian production could be up to a combined total of a few hundred tons of chemical agent per year.
[edit] Facilities
Syrian chemical weapons production facilities have been identified by Western nonproliferation experts at approximately 5 sites, plus one suspected weapons base:[10]
- Al Safir (Scud missile base)
- Cerin
- Hama
- Homs
- Latakia
- Palmyra
[edit] Biological
The site at Cerin is also associated with a potential biological weapons research or production lab. Few details are publicly known.
[edit] Nuclear
[edit] Open nuclear programs
Syria is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and has repeatedly attempted to purchase small research type nuclear reactors from China, Russia, Argentina, or other countries. Despite these purchases being openly disclosed and IAEA monitored, international pressure has caused all these reactor purchases to be cancelled. Syria has open and IAEA monitored nuclear research programs including a Chinese made non-reactor miniature neutron source.[11]
[edit] Alleged weapons program
On September 6, 2007, Israel bombed an officially unidentified site in Syria which it asserted had been a nuclear reactor under construction.[12] The alleged nuclear reactor was not yet operational and no nuclear material had been introduced into it.[13] Top U.S. intelligence officials claimed low confidence that the site was meant for weapons development, noting that there was no reprocessing facility at the site.[6]
Press reports[14] asserted that the Israeli air strike followed a shipment delivery to Syria by a North Korean freighter, and that North Korea was suspected to be supplying a reactor to Syria for a nuclear weapons program.
On October 24, 2007 the Institute for Science and International Security released a report[15] which identified a site next to the Euphrates River in eastern Syria's Deir ez-Zor Governorate province, about 11 kilometers north of the village of At Tibnah, at ), as the suspected reactor. The report stated that the building appeared to match the external structure of the North Korean 5 megawatt reactor at Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center, but that it was too early to make a definitive comparison.[15] The site is also reportedly surrounded by a security barrier and hidden within a small side canyon off the main river valley.[citation needed]
Google Earth imagery taken in 2007 shows the main building believed to be the reactor building, but additional construction at the site is visible in the later images used by ISIS. Press reports asserted that as of October 25, 2007, the main building and any debris from it following the air strike had been completely dismantled and removed by the Syrians. [16] After refusing to comment on the reports for six months, the White House briefed Congress and the IAEA on April 24, 2008, saying that the U.S. Government was "convinced" that Syria had been building a "covert nuclear reactor" that was "not intended for peaceful purposes."[17] The briefing included releases of satellite photographs of the destroyed reactor and overhead and ground level intelligence photographs of the reactor under construction, including the reactor vessel steel shell before concrete was poured and of the reactor head structure.[18]
Joseph Cirincione, an expert on nuclear proliferation and head of the Washington-based Ploughshares Fund, commented "we should learn first from the past and be very cautious about any intelligence from the US about other country's weapons."[19] Syria has denounced "the fabrication and forging of facts" in regards to the incident.[20]
IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei criticized the strikes and deplored that information regarding the matter had not been shared with his agency earlier.[6] Syria has agreed to let the International Atomic Energy Agency investigate the site.[21] Syria has declined to let the IAEA visit other military sites the United States recently made allegations about, arguing it fears that too much openness on it's part would encourage the U.S. to push for years of relentless international scrutiny.[22]
[edit] Delivery systems
In addition to potential aircraft and artillery delivery systems, Syria has several hundred Scud model B, C, and D missiles, and perhaps a thousand SS-21 missiles.
[edit] References
- ^ Syria Special Weapons Guide at globalsecurity.org, accessed Oct 24, 2007.
- ^ Syria Profile at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, accessed Oct 24, 2007.
- ^ Syria and WMD Incentives and Capabilities, Syria Magnus Normark, Anders Lindblad, Anders Norqvist, Björn Sandström, Louise Waldenström, Swedish Defense Research Agency report FOI-R--1290--SE, June 2004, ISSN 1650-1942
- ^ BBC: Syria denounces US 'lies'
- ^ Statement by the Press Secretary
- ^ a b c IAEA slams U.S. for withholding data on alleged Syrian nuclear reactor
- ^ AFP (04/27/2008): Syria president denies building nuclear reactor
- ^ Daiji Sadamori, “Assad: Syria Not Seeking to be Nuclear State,” Asahi Shimbun, 27 October 2006
- ^ Syria Chemical Weapons at globalsecurity.org, accessed Oct 24, 2007.
- ^ Special Weapons Facilities at globalsecurity.org, accessed Oct 24, 2007.
- ^ Syria - Nuclear Weapons Programs at globalsecurity.org, accessed Oct 24, 2007.
- ^ 06 September 2007 Air strike at globalsecurity.org, accessed Oct 24, 2007.
- ^ IAEA: Statement by IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei regarding Syria
- ^ N. Korea, Syria May Be at Work on Nuclear Facility, Glenn Kessler, Washington Post, Thursday, September 13, 2007; Page A12
- ^ a b SUSPECT REACTOR CONSTRUCTION SITE IN EASTERN SYRIA: THE SITE OF THE SEPTEMBER 6 ISRAELI RAID?, David Albright and Paul Brannan, October 23, 2007
- ^ Photos Show Cleansing of Suspect Syrian Site, William J. Broad and Mark Mazzetti, New York Times, accessed Oct 25, 2007.
- ^ Statement by the Press Secretary
- ^ Cryptome: Syrian Alleged and North Korean Reactor Photos
- ^ The Guardian: US claims North Korea helped build Syria reactor plant
- ^ Syria rejects U.S. allegations on existence of nuclear activities
- ^ Syria to Allow IAEA Probe of Nuclear Allegations
- ^ Diplomats: Syria to Block IAEA From Probing Suspected Nuclear Sites
