Chemical Weapon Watchdog Demands Syria Issue Report on Alleged 2017 Attack

Western-pushed probe blames Syria for attack, threatens punishment

Western-driven efforts to blame Syria for alleged chemical attacks in 2017 have led to a new action Thursday, as the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons voted to demand Syria confess all details about the attack, and the facilities used to produce the chemicals.

That’s a non-starter, and probably by design, as Syria has repeatedly denied being involved in the attacks. There isn’t good evidence to pin them on Syria, either, but US and other nations pushed through a call for OPCW to assign blame that was a foregone conclusion before it even began.

This is a continuation of that probe, as now that they’ve blamed Syria, they can demand a confession. Since Syria never admitted wrongdoing, they’re clearly not going to now, and that’s where the OPCW can talk about punishment.

The OPCW has limited options in that regard, as they could suspend Syria’s voting rights within the body. Beyond that, it’s possible to take the matter to the UN Security Council, but Russia already voted against the OPCW’s measure, and could be expected to veto any UN moves.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.