Though Syria claimed yesterday that they would never use chemical or bilogical weapons against their own, they did acknowledge they have a bunch of chemical and biological weapons, and would use them against external forces if they have to.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi, looked out at the world without batting an eyelid and fully expecting us to believe him and said:

Any chemical or bacterial weapons will never be used . . . during the crisis in Syria regardless of the developments . . . These weapons are stored and secured by Syrian military forces and under its direct supervision and will never be used unless Syria faces external aggression.

You are going to have to excuse us, Mr. Makdissi, if we don’t take your words at face value and trust that your governemt will not do something terrible against your people.

Damascus has not signed a 1992 international convention that bans the use, production or stockpiling of chemical weapons, but officials in the past have denied that it had any stockpiles. Insurgents fear that President Bashar al-Assad’s forces will resort to using non-conventional weapons. Syrians everywhere are, I’m sure, worried that anyone will use these weapons. Western countries and Israel have also expressed fears that chemical weapons could fall into the hands of militant groups as Assad’s authority erodes.

International pressure on President Bashar al-Assad has escalated dramatically in the last week with a rebel offensive in the two biggest cities and a devastating bomb attack which killed four members of his inner circle in Damascus.

Assad’s forces have launched fierce counter-offensives, reflecting his determination to hold on to power even at great cost and he has dismissed an Arab offer to grant him a safe exit in return for a swift step down.

[Source: Reuters]