Is Syria the only country that believes that it does not have chemical weapons?

yowolabi

Diamond Member
Jun 29, 2001
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Damascus ratified the Geneva Protocol in 1968, but so far has declined to sign the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).

That's from your second link. If they do have chemical weapons, how is that anyone's business anyway? Everyone doesn't know about our weapons, nor are we obligated to tell them, except under treaties that we willingly signed.
 

Nitemare

Lifer
Feb 8, 2001
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Originally posted by: yowolabi
Damascus ratified the Geneva Protocol in 1968, but so far has declined to sign the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).

That's from your second link. If they do have chemical weapons, how is that anyone's business anyway? Everyone doesn't know about our weapons, nor are we obligated to tell them, except under treaties that we willingly signed.

Why are they denying that they have them then?
 

43st

Diamond Member
Nov 7, 2001
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It's kinda stupid to deny it then. They should've just said "yeah we got 'em, go f*ck yourself". It would've been worth it just to see the reaction from Rumsfeld. heh.
 

Alistar7

Lifer
May 13, 2002
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They have them, and like Iraq, Europeeing countries were the largest providers.....

They did offer to dismantle the WMD systems in 1999 if Israel agreed to eliminate their nuclear arsenal, which of course is not going to happen.
 

yowolabi

Diamond Member
Jun 29, 2001
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Originally posted by: Nitemare
Originally posted by: yowolabi
Damascus ratified the Geneva Protocol in 1968, but so far has declined to sign the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).

That's from your second link. If they do have chemical weapons, how is that anyone's business anyway? Everyone doesn't know about our weapons, nor are we obligated to tell them, except under treaties that we willingly signed.

Why are they denying that they have them then?

Because it's none of our business, being a sovereign nation they're not obligated to tell anyone anything, and if they admit it they're worried that the US will start spinning reasons why they're a danger and must be attacked.

If I ran a country, and the US was threatening me, I'd deny that I had so much as steak knives.
 

Alistar7

Lifer
May 13, 2002
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Do they harbor terrorists? Yes. Do they have WMD? Yes. Have we been fighting and killing Syrians on the battlefield in Iraq? Yes. Did they help Saddam in this war with weapons? probably. Are regime members being harbored there, probably.

When Bush spoke before the UN on9/12 and said we would wage war on terrorists, he meant every word. I for one have no problem with this, and that includes countires such as Syria which harbor and aid terrorists.
 

Nitemare

Lifer
Feb 8, 2001
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Originally posted by: Alistar7
Do they harbor terrorists? Yes. Do they have WMD? Yes. Have we been fighting and killing Syrians on the battlefield in Iraq? Yes. Did they help Saddam in this war with weapons? probably. Are regime members being harbored there, probably.

When Bush spoke before the UN on9/12 and said we would wage war on terrorists, he meant every word. I for one have no problem with this, and that includes countires such as Syria which harbor and aid terrorists.

Replace Syria with Pakistan and Iraq with Afghanistan and you can say the same thing about our first foray in the Middle East last year. What is the difference other than the token government that is quasi-supportive of us?
 

yellowperil

Diamond Member
Jan 17, 2000
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Heard a comment today about Iraq's oil pipelines to the Mediterranean having to pass through Syria and there is resistance about allowing the U.S. access. Can't quote the source but just thought it was interesting.

I think the Bush administration will have a tough time making the case for attacking Syria. Every country has chemical weapons and I think cycling through the 'stopping the terrorists' -> WMD -> regime change argument will provoke even more resistance than with Iraq. JMO
 

Alistar7

Lifer
May 13, 2002
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Originally posted by: zer0burn
as7 u seem so pro war why dont u go help the cause and enlist...

No just doing my part in pointing out certain facts don't always match the trendy anti-Us bs.. like yours.

If I thought I could have gotten through training and there in time, I might have, statistically, I take greater risks driving my car than engaging in thsi conflict. Of course due to my age I doubt they would have taken me anyway.
 

sMiLeYz

Platinum Member
Feb 3, 2003
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Originally posted by: Alistar7
Originally posted by: zer0burn
as7 u seem so pro war why dont u go help the cause and enlist...

No just doing my part in pointing out certain facts don't always match the trendy anti-Us bs.. like yours.

If I thought I could have gotten through training and there in time, I might have, statistically, I take greater risks driving my car than engaging in thsi conflict. Of course due to my age I doubt they would have taken me anyway.

Everyone who disagrees with you must be "anti-us" right?
 

Alistar7

Lifer
May 13, 2002
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Originally posted by: sMiLeYz
Originally posted by: Alistar7
Originally posted by: zer0burn
as7 u seem so pro war why dont u go help the cause and enlist...

No just doing my part in pointing out certain facts don't always match the trendy anti-Us bs.. like yours.

If I thought I could have gotten through training and there in time, I might have, statistically, I take greater risks driving my car than engaging in thsi conflict. Of course due to my age I doubt they would have taken me anyway.

Everyone who disagrees with you must be "anti-us" right?


Anyone that dismisses what is fact because it doesn't fit their bias would fall into this category. Is that my problem is seems to be indicative of the anti-war, anti-us, anti-bush crowd, I will add a few links to this post in a sec, I recognize your ID, I feel the need to elighten the rest of our members of your previous astute obersvations of the conflict,lol.


Great... our draft-dodging nitwit preisdent is at it again. Lets just skip UN and go straight to all-out invasion so we can avoid another charade....no ANTI-Bush sentiment there



Bush is a disaster of a public speaker who riled up support through acting through the fear of the ignorant... and the "America can do no wrong" right wingers.... I guess if supported this war you are ignorant then?

I looked through the first 2, found those, think they definitely point out the most critical "fact" you base your observations on, Bush and the right wing are ignorant and the devil....lol.
 

zer0burn

Golden Member
Jan 30, 2002
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exactly my point. Im for the US however I disagree with a lot of what you have to say...


Maybe more EU countries provided more agents on how to form chemcial weapons however the US actually gave them rdy to use weapons...

Do you actual believe that everything Saddam detailed in his weapons report was accurate??? He's lied countless times before why would be tell the truth now???

THats why this war also deals with revenge. Rumsfield is pissed at how Saddam turned on him blah blah blah...

Im not anti US im for this war and them taking back the weapons they gave them in the beginning...
 

Alistar7

Lifer
May 13, 2002
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Originally posted by: zer0burn
exactly my point. Im for the US however I disagree with a lot of what you have to say...


Maybe more EU countries provided more agents on how to form chemcial weapons however the US actually gave them rdy to use weapons...

Do you actual believe that everything Saddam detailed in his weapons report was accurate??? He's lied countless times before why would be tell the truth now???

THats why this war also deals with revenge. Rumsfield is pissed at how Saddam turned on him blah blah blah...

Im not anti US im for this war and them taking back the weapons they gave them in the beginning...

What more dangerous, me giving you 1000 rounds of ammo, or giving you everything you needed to build a munitions factory? At least the actual things we provided can be accounted for easily, who knows how much more was made with raw materials provided by others.
 

yowolabi

Diamond Member
Jun 29, 2001
4,183
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Originally posted by: Alistar7
Do they harbor terrorists? Yes. Do they have WMD? Yes. Have we been fighting and killing Syrians on the battlefield in Iraq? Yes. Did they help Saddam in this war with weapons? probably. Are regime members being harbored there, probably.

When Bush spoke before the UN on9/12 and said we would wage war on terrorists, he meant every word. I for one have no problem with this, and that includes countires such as Syria which harbor and aid terrorists.

- Countries are allowed to have WMD. They haven't signed any treaties that says they can't, nor are they in violation of UN resolutions for doing so. Most countries in the world have WMD. Not a reason to go to war.

-If citizens of their country died on the battlefield, that does nothing to implicate the country itself. People have free will, a government cannot stop a citizen from leaving the country and going to die in another country. Unless we have proof that the government of Syria sent these people out to fight, that this was a military action of Syria against the US, this is meaningless. Citizens of the US went to Iraq to be shields. Does this mean that their government is against us? Not a reason to go to war.

-We need proof that the government of Syria gave weapons to Saddam. Not only do we need proof, we have to show that it wasn't just individual people who are sympathetic to Saddam. As in the above point, the hostile actions of individuals does not make the government or the entire country complicit.

-We need to prove that regime members are being harbored there. By harbored there, that means that they came with the knowledge and support of the government. If they snuck across without anyone's knowledge, then it's not Syria's fault. There are criminals living in the US. We have dramatically better law enforcement than in Syria, yet many go for years, if not forever without being found. Terrorists and illegal aliens and tons of drugs came across our borders and still do so.

-If we can show that terrorists hostile to the US are gathering in Syria with the knowledge and cooperation of the Syrians, that would be the only way that we could justify attacking Syria. Even then, we would have to try cooperation first. Tell Syria we have evidence that terrorists are operating in their country, and that we would like the terrorists arrested or driven out of Syria. Give them the tools to fight the terrorists if they need them. Offer to assist. Only if Syria refuses to stop terrorists that we have proven to be there do we have a case. We even gave the Taliban an opportunity to distance themselves from Osama and give him up before we attacked them.
 

etech

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
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Originally posted by: zer0burn
exactly my point. Im for the US however I disagree with a lot of what you have to say...


Maybe more EU countries provided more agents on how to form chemcial weapons however the US actually gave them rdy to use weapons...

Do you actual believe that everything Saddam detailed in his weapons report was accurate??? He's lied countless times before why would be tell the truth now???

THats why this war also deals with revenge. Rumsfield is pissed at how Saddam turned on him blah blah blah...

Im not anti US im for this war and them taking back the weapons they gave them in the beginning...

Don't you think that if Saddam could have shown that the US gave him weapons that he would have used that as propaganda and broadcast it to the world? I don't think your logic works in this case.


What's "rdy"?



 

Alistar7

Lifer
May 13, 2002
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I agree they need absolute proof of the weapons assistance and the harboring of regime members by GOVT. sources. If this can be proven I'm not sure what our reaction would be, polls suggest at least 50% of Americans would support military action in this case.

I think they could prove there are terrorists there, easily. Could they link them directly to the govt, probably not, but they still are very aware of their presence. If they were to take steps to eliminate them it would be nice, instead they allow the terrorists to act on their policy, especially in regards to Israel.

They have already signaled they would be willing to undergo stringent inspections, I bet Saddam taught them a few tricks in that regard. The US and Israel are going to push them to act on Hezbollah, their reactions to this and in dealing with the remnants of Saddams regime will help determine the final course we will take.
 

zer0burn

Golden Member
Jan 30, 2002
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rdy = ready.

They wouldnt admit to it because they dont want to admit that they have any chemical weapons now.
 

yowolabi

Diamond Member
Jun 29, 2001
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Originally posted by: Alistar7
I agree they need absolute proof of the weapons assistance and the harboring of regime members by GOVT. sources. If this can be proven I'm not sure what our reaction would be, polls suggest at least 50% of Americans would support military action in this case.

I think they could prove there are terrorists there, easily. Could they link them directly to the govt, probably not, but they still are very aware of their presence. If they were to take steps to eliminate them it would be nice, instead they allow the terrorists to act on their policy, especially in regards to Israel.

They have already signaled they would be willing to undergo stringent inspections, I bet Saddam taught them a few tricks in that regard. The US and Israel are going to push them to act on Hezbollah, their reactions to this and in dealing with the remnants of Saddams regime will help determine the final course we will take.

I don't believe any of these 3rd world countries would defy us if we take those steps. Show them there are terrorists, offer whatever help they need to get rid of them. Like an international Orkin man. After Afghanistan and Iraq, there's a loud unspoken threat that if they turn down our help, but don't get rid of the terrorists, we'll get rid of the terrorists and the government that refused to help us. Not much of a choice. Get rid of the terrorists, or be attacked and let the US get rid of the terrorists. All the more developed countries are already fighting terrorism.

Do you have any good links for information about Hezbollah and things the US has said?
 

naddicott

Senior member
Jul 3, 2002
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The case for a pre-emptive strike on Syria is pretty weak right now.

US opinion polls aside, a US war on Syria would be a potentially huge violation of international law. Afghanistan was a pretty clear cut retaliation for a direct attack on US civilians on US soil. Iraq is a resumption of hostilities due to a material breach of cease fire terms (from a legal standpoint - the US had additional reasons for the specific timing and scope of the war).

Syria didn't sign a cease fire agreement saying they would give up chem/bio/nuke weapons. If the Government chooses to harbor Al-Qaeda or another terrorist group that directly attacks the US, then we'll have a stronger case for intervention. The extent to which Al-Qaeda and the Taliban were in bed with each other was pretty extreme, however. In most 3rd world countries with terrorist training camps / cells, the governments aren't quite as chummy with the terrorists and will probably prefer to cooperate with the US than take the Taliban approach (especially now that the consequences of that approach are clear).
 

Alistar7

Lifer
May 13, 2002
11,978
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Originally posted by: yowolabi
Originally posted by: Alistar7
I agree they need absolute proof of the weapons assistance and the harboring of regime members by GOVT. sources. If this can be proven I'm not sure what our reaction would be, polls suggest at least 50% of Americans would support military action in this case.

I think they could prove there are terrorists there, easily. Could they link them directly to the govt, probably not, but they still are very aware of their presence. If they were to take steps to eliminate them it would be nice, instead they allow the terrorists to act on their policy, especially in regards to Israel.

They have already signaled they would be willing to undergo stringent inspections, I bet Saddam taught them a few tricks in that regard. The US and Israel are going to push them to act on Hezbollah, their reactions to this and in dealing with the remnants of Saddams regime will help determine the final course we will take.

I don't believe any of these 3rd world countries would defy us if we take those steps. Show them there are terrorists, offer whatever help they need to get rid of them. Like an international Orkin man. After Afghanistan and Iraq, there's a loud unspoken threat that if they turn down our help, but don't get rid of the terrorists, we'll get rid of the terrorists and the government that refused to help us. Not much of a choice. Get rid of the terrorists, or be attacked and let the US get rid of the terrorists. All the more developed countries are already fighting terrorism.

Do you have any good links for information about Hezbollah and things the US has said?

You want links regarding Syria and terrorism? Theres one. And another...
 

yowolabi

Diamond Member
Jun 29, 2001
4,183
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Originally posted by: Alistar7


You want links regarding Syria and terrorism? Theres one. And another...

Thanks. Your first link says that Syria is actually hostile to Al-Qaeda. Do you think we'd be justified in attacking Syria even though the terrorist groups in their country focus on attacking Israel and are prevented from attacking "westerners"?
 

Alistar7

Lifer
May 13, 2002
11,978
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I hope they do the smart thing and turn their backs on the terrorists in their country. They are hardly prevented from doing anything, if theyare, who is preventing them? The govt? If they have that kind of control they are just as liable if not more for their continued presence.
 

Jimbo

Platinum Member
Oct 10, 1999
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Originally posted by: Thera
It's kinda stupid to deny it then. They should've just said "yeah we got 'em, go f*ck yourself". It would've been worth it just to see the reaction from Rumsfeld. heh.

Like M-1A3s and Bradly Fighting Vehicles of the 4th Mechanized racing across the Syrian border with ZERO political fallout for The US?

I finally agree with you, I would have LOVED to see that as well.