Syria says it will use chemical weapons if attacked

[maddezmom]

Source: AP

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) – The Syrian regime acknowledged for the first time Monday that it possessed stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons and said it will only use them in case of a foreign attack and never internally against its own citizens.

Sponsored LinksForeign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi said the stockpiles are secure, in an apparent response to widespread international concerns that they could fall into the hands of the disparate bands of rebel forces fighting the government.

"No chemical or biological weapons will ever be used, and I repeat, will never be used, during the crisis in Syria no matter what the developments inside Syria," he said in conference broadcast on state TV. "All of these types of weapons are in storage and under security and the direct supervision of the Syrian armed forces and will never be used unless Syria is exposed to external aggression."

Syria is believed to have nerve agents as well as mustard gas, Scud missiles capable of delivering these lethal chemicals and a variety of advanced conventional arms, including anti-tank rockets and late-model portable anti-aircraft missiles.


Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2012-07-23/Syria-violence-rebels/56425402/1

[Odin2005]

1. Western Imperialist LIES!!!

[dipsydoodle]

2. Syria 'will not use' chemical weapons on its own people

Syria says it will not use chemical weapons against its own people, but would do so against an external attack.

Syrian foreign ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi said the weapons, stored and secured by the armed forces, would never be used "inside Syria".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18955114

[Daniel537]

5. Well gee if the Syrian foreign ministry says it....

These thugs wouldn't hesitate for a second to use these weapons on their people if they were to be pushed into a corner. They've already killed thousands with conventional weapons, don't see any reason to doubt that they would resort to genocide like their former neighbor Saddam did.

[maddezmom]

6. conflicting statements are being reported

"No chemical or biological weapons will ever be used, and I repeat, will never be used, during the crisis in Syria no matter what the developments inside Syria," Mr. Makdissi said in news conference broadcast on Syrian state TV. "All of these types of weapons are in storage and under security and the direct supervision of the Syrian armed forces and will never be used unless Syria is exposed to external aggression."

While the statement Mr. Makdissi read out promised not to use the weapons against the Syrian people, he later noted that Syria isn't facing an internal enemy in the rebellion, which the regime has described as being funded from abroad and driven by foreign extremists.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443437504577544632378473006.html

The state news agency, Sana, put it this way:


Foreign and expatriates ministry spokesman, Jihad Makdissi, on Monday stressed that Syria will not use any chemical weapons, if they exist, during the internal crisis in Syria ...

He stressed that any chemical weapons are monitored and guarded by the Syrian Arab Army and will only be used in case of external aggression on Syria

Makdissi also both attempted to reassure Syrians that chemicals weapons would not be used domestically, but that they would be used against any foreign intervention.

Here's the Reuters report on his comments:


Syria will only use its chemical weapons if it faces "external aggression", but will never use them against its civilians, the country's foreign ministry spokesman said on Monday.

"Syria will never use (chemical weapons) against Syrians no matter what," Jihad Makdissi told a news conference that was aired on state television.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2012/jul/23/syria-damascus-aleppo-battles-live

[dipsydoodle]

7. Exactly

Difficult to know who to believe at times.

[maddezmom]

11. so true dipsy

Lots of half truths on all sides.

[Scairp]

13. Do they think people are that dumb?

This is a direct threat against the Syrians who are trying to get rid of this regime and everybody knows it. Jesus what bollocks. The only "invasion" would be in the form of air strikes by NATO forces. There will be no land forces invading Syria and they know this. Syrian civilians would die not the fantasy foreign invaders.

[Scairp]

14. Whatever

It sounds like an indirect threat to me and if I were a journalist in Damascus I would send for my chemical suit that should be provided by NBC, CBS, ABC, etc., in combat zones. Especially combat zones where the regime is ruthless and mentioning chemical and biological weapons, but only to say they would NEVER use them on Syrians. The Assad regime played the world for fools for so long and the bottom line is, they lie like they breathe. If they do have chem/bio weapons this is them threatening the opposition inside Syria. If no one can see this, please get your head out of the sand and look again.

[Scairp]

12. Uh huh

Anybody who believes that stand on their heads. I seem to recall that several (ignored) people in the know have said these kinds of things about Syria for years. Or did I imagine that?

[pampango]

3. That would be a last, dying gasp of the regime. If they used chemical/biological weapons on Turkey,

for example, all bets would be off.

Perhaps enough people in the Syrian military understand the consequences of the use of chemical/biological weapons against another country that they will not obey such orders.

[Poll_Blind]

4. Turkey isn't gong to be attacking Syria. Syria isn't going to be attacking Turkey. nt

PB

[Alamuti Lotus]

8. absurd spin on the headline

The entire statement from Makdissi is about chemical weapons not being used, but somehow the warmonger press still manages to spin a threatening statement out of it.

[David__77]

9. Nukes are legal to use under "int'l law," but not bio or chemical weapons.

I find that beyond odd - preposterous, actually.

It's quite obvious that the only way a developing country with limited resources could defeat a powerful enemy would be through asymmetric, unconventional warfare.

The solution is not to intervene in other countries' internal affairs.

[fingrinn]

10. Same western media

same lies. He who controls the media controls the propaganda war.
The BBC has been caught using massacre footage from Iraq claiming it was Syria and we have video evidence of the rebels firing guns for the benefit of the western media.
There have also been reports of the rebels planning a chemical attack to blame the Syrian regime.
Look for a false flag blaming the government so the west can steal all Syria's resources and move on to Iran.

[David__77]

15. There is a strategic plot to place Sunni theocrats in power in Syria.

Anyone who thinks this is anything but a sectarian war is wrong. The ideology of Khalifah is the motivator for the acts of terror in Syria. All those Christians, Shia, Alawi, and others who don't adhere are the targets. The Western PR firms and media try to cover this fact up, but it's completely obvious.

[may3rd]

16. The chickens come home to roost

Dec-15-2005

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=124x107606