The former head of the Iraq Survey Group, Dr. David Kay is confirming previous reports that parts of Saddam’s WMD stockpile was sent to Syria. This is the first time that this theory has been given serious credence by a high-level official in the hunt for WMDs in Iraq.
In an exclusive interview with The Telegraph, Dr Kay, who last week resigned as head of the Iraq Survey Group, said that he had uncovered evidence that unspecified materials had been moved to Syria shortly before last year’s war to overthrow Saddam.
“We are not talking about a large stockpile of weapons,” he said. “But we know from some of the interrogations of former Iraqi officials that a lot of material went to Syria before the war, including some components of Saddam’s WMD programme. Precisely what went to Syria, and what has happened to it, is a major issue that needs to be resolved.”
Syria is in a difficult position – they have US troops at their border and they know that they have little room to maneuver. While a direct attack on Syria is likely out of the question, we can also make life very hard for the Syrians. It is likely that diplomatic pressure can force Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to begin to make significant concessions.
It is increasingly likely that Iraq’s WMDs, such as they were before the war, were quickly shuffled across the Syrian border. It is also clear that the United States needs to put diplomatic pressure on the Syrian government to not only declare and eliminate any Iraqi stockpiles they still may have as well as removing their native WMD capability. Fortunately in this case, Assad is far more rational than Hussein and knows full well the risks inherent in maintaining WMD stockpiles. Assad has a choice – end up like Saddam Hussein or end up like Qaddafi. It seems like that may well be a very easy choice for him.
