Syria has long claimed that its chemical weapons were a deterrent against Israel, but analysts say the real target was Syrians, so their dismantling by the United Nations will not change the regional balance of power. “Syria’s chemical weapons were never a credible deterrence,”...
The U.S. has given 10 armored vehicles to the United Nations to help support efforts to verify and destroy Syria's chemical weapons. The United States spent $1.55 million from the State Department's Nonproliferation and Disarmament Fund to pay for the armored vehicles, which were...
On Sunday, September 29, President Bashar al-Assad declared to the world, via an interview on Italian television, his resolve to clear Syria of chemical weapons - accepting a Russian-brokered deal to avert punitive U.S. action. That same morning his forces appear to have dropped...
Three deadly Mediterranean shipwrecks that claimed the lives of hundreds of would-be asylum-seekers fleeing war and repression sharpened calls Saturday for humanitarian corridors to allow safe passage to Europe. At least 34 people drowned in Maltese waters south of the Italian island of...
