Syria’s Arsenal: Hard to Destroy

Even if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad complies with the U.S.-Russia deal to destroy his country’s stockpile of chemical weapons by November, that is hardly the end of Syria’s arsenal. For starters, while finding Syria’s arsenal might seem easy, accessing them will be difficult. Chemical weapons are unlikely to be right in the middle of Damascus, and most roads in Syria are hard—if not impossible—to cross. Don’t forget about the rebels who are bitterly opposed to the deal and may intervene. Additionally, destroying chemical weapons is a laborious process that often can take decades—meaning that November deadline looks fairly shaky, at best.