Securing Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal would be formidable task (would take years)

[morningfog]

As diplomats wrangled over competing plans for securing Syria’s chemical weapons, arms-control experts warned Tuesday of the formidable challenges involved in carrying out such a complex and risky operation in the midst of a raging civil war.

U.N. teams dispatched to Syria for the mission would be attempting something new: finding and safeguarding a long-
hidden arsenal in a country that has long stood outside key international arms-control agreements — all while exposed to crossfire from Syria’s warring factions.

Although the mission might be worth the risks, experts say, it would be costly and time-
consuming, especially if the goal included the physical destruction of what is estimated to be thousands of chemical warheads and rockets as well as hundreds of tons of liquid toxins kept in bulk storage throughout Syria.

“It is doable, and potentially a great idea, but let’s not be naive,” said Jean Pascal Zanders, a Belgian arms-control researcher and writer for the Trench, a blog focusing on weapons of mass destruction. “If you can get around the legal and logistical questions, securing the stocks might be relatively easy to achieve. But if you add destruction of the munitions, you have to think in terms of years.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/securing-syrias-chemical-weapons-arsenal-will-be-formidable-task-experts-say/2013/09/10/d20a74a2-1a53-11e3-82ef-a059e54c49d0_story.html?Post+generic=%3Ftid%3Dsm_twitter_washingtonpost

[lumpy]

1. Truly. It can't be done over night. Very dangerous and very very time consuming to do away with.

A start to eliminate the use of chemical weapons is better than doing nothing at all. If Assad makes good on his signing of the anti-chemical weapons agreements and if trusted people secure them safely from falling into evil hands, then there is hope that all nations will see the light. It certainly would be a tricky/dangerous task to have secure passage into Syria for people to do the job. Lets hope.