Syria: Mother of
Terrorism
Besides occupying the Democratic Republic of
Lebanon and terrorizing its citizens specially the Christians by
killing, assassinating, kidnapping, emprisonning and threatning
every Right-Wing Democrat or Republican or Christian Lebanese
Citizen who is trying to stand up in the face of the Terrorist
Syrian Occupation of the Republic of Lebanon, and transforming its
Phoenician Christian Democratic Identity to an Arabic Islamic
Communist/Socialist Identity by backing up Islamic residents (from
Arabic roots) of Lebanon, and bringing in hundreds of thousands of
Non-Lebanese people, specifically Arabs Muslims, and making'em
residents and citizens of Lebanon ILLEGALY.
Till today, Lebanon lost over 200,000 of its
citizned who were brutally killed by Syrian Terrorists (Syrian
Government itself, Invador of Lebanon), and Palestenians Terrorists
before them (PLO and Master Terrorist Yaser Arafat).
Syria Profile
Continues:
While constrained by limited resources, Syria has
shown interest in and taken steps to develop and acquire weapons of
mass destruction (WMD) and their delivery systems, especially
chemical weapons (CW) and ballistic missiles. Damascus has allegedly
received direct assistance from Russia (and formerly the Soviet
Union), Iran, and North Korea in developing its programs. Syria's
motivation to acquire WMD, and ballistic missiles in particular,
appears to be a response to Israel's superior conventional military
capabilities. There are strong indications that Syria is pursuing
nuclear weapons.
Although the Israeli and
U.S. governments have expressed concerns about Syrian nuclear
weapons aspirations, there is little convincing evidence of such an
objective. Syria signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons
(NPT) in 1968 and ratified the document one
year later; its 30 KW nuclear research reactor in Dayr al Jajar,
provided by China, is under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards. In 1998, the Syrian Atomic Energy Commission
began discussions with Russia about expanding its nuclear
infrastructure, as prior negotiations with Argentina and China had
proved unsuccessful. In May 1999, Moscow and Damascus signed an
agreement in which the former will provide at least one light water
nuclear reactor, which will be subject to IAEA safeguards. At this
time, Syria has neither the infrastructure nor the financial
resources to pursue an indigenous nuclear weapons program. Following
revelations regarding the nuclear technology proliferation network
of Pakistan's A.Q. Khan in 2003, some have evinced concern that
Syria may have been a client. In a September 2004 interview, IAEA
Secretary General ElBaradei stated that there are "no indications"
of such a relationship.
There
is very limited open-source information regarding Syria's biological
weapons (BW) capability. German and Israeli sources have asserted
that Syria possesses Bacillus anthracis (which causes
anthrax), botulinum toxin, and ricin. Other independent assessments,
however, maintain there is no evidence that the country has
progressed past the research and development phase of a BW
capability. Syria has a pharmaceutical infrastructure that could
support a limited BW program, and it engages in extensive trade of
dual-use equipment and
goods with companies in Western Europe, Russia, and North Korea.
Damascus ratified the Geneva Protocol in 1968
and signed the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention
(BWC) on April 14, 1972, but has yet to
ratify it.
According
to open sources, Syria has one of the most extensive chemical
weapons (CW) capabilities in the Middle East and among developing
countries worldwide. Syria allegedly received initial chemical
warfare assistance and supplies, including chemical agents, from
Egypt prior to the October War against Israel in 1973. Analysts
claim that the country now has an indigenous capability to produce
and weaponize nerve (e.g., sarin and VX) and
blister (e.g., mustard) agents. There are some allegations that
Syria received Russian assistance in developing these agents, and
that it acquired dual-use technology and equipment from various
European countries and India. Syria possesses Scud-B and Scud-C
ballistic missiles capable of being fitted with chemical warheads,
and in 1999 it allegedly tested a Scud-B carrying a warhead designed
to disperse VX. Open sources assert that there are at least three
Syrian facilities currently engaged in producing CW, located near
Damascus, Hama, and Safira village (in the Aleppo area). Damascus
ratified the Geneva Protocol in 1968, but so far has declined to
sign the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).
Syria's
missile program began in the early 1970s as a means to counter
Israel’s superior conventional military capabilities; since that
time, the missile program has grown in tandem with the development
of chemical weapons (CW). Syria now has one of the largest arsenals
of ballistic missiles in
the region, made up of hundreds of Scud-derived missile systems. In
the 1970s and 1980s, Syria relied on Soviet technology and support
for its missile program and imported the Soviet FROG-7, Scud-Bs, and
the solid-fueled Scarab SS-21 missiles. In the 1990s, Syria looked
to other states to supply it with missile technology and found
willing partners in Iran and North Korea. Iran provided Syria with
technical assistance for solid-fueled rocket motor production, while
North Korea supplied it with equipment and technical assistance for
liquid-fueled missile production. Syria, however, has had difficulty
creating an indigenous production capability and has had to rely on
continued imports from countries such as North Korea and China.
Syria reportedly purchased 150 Scud-C missiles from North
Korea in 1991. In September 2000, Syria
tested a North Korean, 700 km-range Scud-D, revealing its commitment to expanding its missile
capability. Syria is not a member of the Missile
Technology Control Regime (MTCR).
Information by the Lebanese Front, and NTI
2003-2005.
| 
