(MENAFN- Jordan Times) One wonders why Damascus raised the spectre of chemical weapons all of a sudden, even though it tried to backpedal on this threat after causing alarm across the region and the world at large.
The first question that comes to mind is who is Syria directing this threat at? It cannot be directed at Israel, since a deployment of such weapons against it would unleash a nuclear retaliation.
In other words, it would be suicidal for Syria to think of Israel when it talks about its WMDs.
The Syrian threat cannot be directed at the US either since it is no match to a superpower in any military confrontation.
The threat cannot be directed at a country like Jordan, which has never posed a direct or indirect challenge to the Syrian security. Damascus might be thinking of Turkey, whose borders are now open for the infiltration of armed men and weapons into the northern region of Syria.
The so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA) now has control of key crossing points from and into Turkey, which could facilitate the attempts to beef up its forces with weapons and funds. On the other hand, Turkey is a NATO member and Syria is no match to NATO either, and cannot seriously entertain reprisal against a NATO country.
So who is the Syrian regime directing its threat at?
Despite denying the fact that it would use of WMDs against its own people, I believe Damascus is thinking of the growing insurgency in the country as an imminent threat and decided that it will stop at nothing to avert a fall from power.
Some tactical chemical weapons can be used internally, to destroy enclaves where the FSA can find safe haven.
Iraqi president Saddam Hussein used tactical chemical weapons against the Kurds in the north of his country. Most probably Syria is thinking of doing the same if push comes to shove.
The Syrian leadership must have sensed that the noose is tightening around its neck and it does not wish to fall with no final fight.
Should Damascus reach the point where it feels obliged to deploy chemical weapons, it will no doubt be condemned internationally; even Moscow will not dare stand by it then. Russia is already paying a huge price for standing by Syria, with some suggesting that human rights and humanitarian law do not figure high on the Russian agenda. At the end of the day, however, Moscow cannot afford to support to the use of such weapons for whatever purpose.
It seems that Damascus will stand alone if it commits the fatal mistake of killing its own people.
So it is only a Syrian bluff, nothing more, nothing less.
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