Assad's fall and Saddam's weapons

Rowan Scarborough:

If Syria’s regime falls, the U.S. will be in a better position to answer one of the lingering questions from the long Iraq War: Did Baghdad ship weapons of mass destruction components toSyria before the 2003 American-led invasion?

An opposition leader tells The Washington Times that a new, secular democracy in Syria would allow outside inspectors to survey and ensure destruction of what is believed to be one of the largest stockpiles of chemical weapons in the Middle East.

Western and Israeli intelligence suspect thatBashar Assad’s regime in Syria also owns weaponized nerve agents.

Spy satellites tracked a large number of truck convoys moving from Iraqto Syria in the weeks before the 2003 invasion, raising suspicions that some carried weapons of mass destruction.

The invading Americans never found stocks of such weapons in Iraq, despite two years of searching by the Iraq Survey Group.

The result spurred the political left to attack President Bush with slogans such as “Bush lied, troops died,” but nonpartisan national security figures said there was evidence that material may have been moved toSyria. There was just no way to get inside the Iranian-supported dictatorship to take a look.

Zuhdi Jasser, a Syrian-American physician who co-founded the groupSave Syria Now, is working to bring an elected secular government to Damascus. He said the Assad regime, which has used brutal repression to remain in power, can fall within a year if the popular uprising comes to the capital.

“As far as making sure there is a public transparent disposal of [weapons of mass destruction], I believe so,” Dr. Jasser told The Times.

He said an emerging group, the Syrian Democratic Coalition, is preparing a pledge by pro-democracy members.

“Many of us are banking on the fact they will not protect any arsenals there and allow a transparent change so they can be welcomed into the world community and not simply exchange one fascist government for another,” he said.

Disposing of Syria’s chemical weapons “has to be part of the transition,” he said.

Research groups say the Assad regime maintains large stocks of chemical weapons, including mustard gas.

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This is one of many mysteries of the Iraq war that could be resolved.  But, I have also seen reports that the weapons were taken into Lebanon and hidden by Hezballah, so Assad's demise may not solve the mystery right away.   Syria was also a major transit point for al Qaeda into Iraq.  Discovering how that transit worked and who facilitated the transits would also be useful.  Then there is all the other terrorists that have been given sanctuary in Syria.  What were the regime's ties with North Korea on building nukes?  What are their ties to Iran?