A new round of furious condemnations from Western officials came today against Syria, after the Syrian Foreign Ministry issued a statement ruling out the use of chemical weapons in the ongoing civil war.
The Foreign Ministry statement said they would never be used domestically “no matter what,” and that the weapons are being stored exclusively for use in the event Syria is invaded by some foreign nation.
This of course was the whole point of Syria having this arsenal, as a deterrent against foreign invasion. Coming as Israel is openly talking about a new invasion and several NATO members are also pushing the idea, it didn’t set well internationally.
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said pointing out that they would use the weapons defensively was “monstrous,” while other Western officials condemned Syria as “reprehensible” for even suggesting the idea. Threats of unspecified retaliation against Syria for the use of chemical weapons were also thrown out there, though since they would only come up if Syria was already being invaded this additional threat likely means little.
