My must read of the day is "Syria Destroys Chemical Sites, Inspectors Say," in the New York Times:
Syria’s ability to produce chemical weapons has been destroyed and its remaining toxic armaments secured, weapons inspectors said Thursday, as President Bashar al-Assad has offered unexpectedly robust cooperation, at least so far, with a Russian-United States accord to dismantle his arsenal.
Elimination of Mr. Assad’s manufacturing ability is the most significant milestone yet in a process that still faces a monumental task: destroying the government’s 1,290 tons of declared chemical weapons in the midst of a bloody civil war that has killed well over 100,000 people and carved up control of the country.
Sorry to be a Debbie Downer, but I just don't believe that Assad has been defanged.
Can you imagine if police showed up at a drug dealer’s house and said, "Hey, we’re coming to raid this place and were taking all your drugs—starting tomorrow. But do not touch anything please before we get there."
That’s basically the warning Syria got. But, from negotiations, to the deal, to actually sending in inspectors, Syria had a month to protect its capabilities.
Any one with common sense would get rid of, or hide, whatever contraband they had before the authorities arrive. Surely Syria did too. In fact, there were reports that Syria began moving chemical weapons shortly after the United States and Russia began working on the weapons deal.
This article may make some people feel good about the fact that the world has sat idly by as more than a hundred thousand people have died and more than a million have been displaced from their homes. But it's silly to assume Syria's chemical weapons capability has been totally dismantled, or that the underlying issues in the Syrian civil war have been addressed.
Cheers for no one here. What's happening in Syria is horrific. And the complacency of the Obama White House is shameful.