Reports from Syria claiming that chemical weapons have killed as many as thousands of
civilians in Damascus have shocked the world.
At this time we don't know exactly what's happened because although these pictures are
devastating, its not been confirmed at this point who exactly is responsible for the attacks.
There is countries, including the UK and France who are urging the UN to undertake a thorough
investigation but this relies on UN weapons inspectors being given access.
But what potentially could they find and what do we actually know about chemical weapons?
Well according to popular definition, a chemical weapon is a toxic chemical contained in something
which can transport it to its intended target such as a bomb or a missile.
They can also be sprayed.
However the Chemical Weapons Convention has a much broader definition.
They apply the term to any toxic chemical or its precursor that can cause death, injury,
temporary incapacitation or sensory irritation through its chemical action.
The devices designed to deliver the weapons, whether filled or unfilled, are also considered
weapons.
The toxic component is called its chemical agents based on how they penetrate and effect
the body chemical agents are divided into several categories; choking, blister, blood,
nerve and riot control agents.
The CWC keeps a definition of chemical weapons broad for various reasons mainly because many
chemicals are used widely for commercial and non-violent purposes for example as herbicides
or insecticides.
Therefore chemicals like this are considered chemical weapons if they are produced and
stockpiled in amounts greater than are needed for commercial use.
But as they can be used in the formation of chemical weapons the CWC definition needed
to be as comprehensive as possible to address any potential threats posed by such chemicals.
So where did chemical weapons start?
The modern use of chemical weapons started in the first world war.
Both sides used poisonous gases in weapons by putting commercial chemicals like chlorine
into grenades and artillery shells.
They caused nearly 100,000 deaths.
Since World War One chemical weapons have caused more than one million casualties globally.
In 1925 after the horror of World War One the Geneva Protocol was signed which prohibited
the use of chemical weapons in warfare.
But it was quite a limiting agreement as it did not prohibit the development, production,
or stockpiling of chemical weapons.
It also allowed nations that were part of the protocol to use prohibited weapons against
states that were not or to use them in retaliation.
During the Cold War the United States and the Soviet Union gathered huge stockpiles
of chemical weapons, which according to the CWC was enough to destroy much of the human
and animal life on Earth.
Iraq used chemical weapons in Iran during the war in the 1980s and also used mustard
gas and nerve agents against Kurds in the Halabja massacre in Northern Iraq in 1988.
They also pursued offensive biological weapon capabilities from 1985 until the 1990s.
Iraq's chemical weapon capabilities suffered massive damage during the 1991 Gulf War and
by 1995 UN inspectors had mostly completed the verification and destruction of its chemical
stocks and equipment.
And of course one of the reasons given for the 2003 invasion of Iraq was the supposed
belief that the country had VX, Sarin and mustard gas among other weapons of mass destruction
that according to Bush and Blair it had successfully concealed from the United Nations.
In 1997 the Chemical Weapons Convention came into play, an arms control agreement which
outlaws the production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons.
189 nations, that's about 98% of the global population, have joined the CWC that leaves
7 nations who have not ratified or signed up to the chemical weapons convention.
Israel, Syria, North Korea and Egypt are among them.
According to the Swedish defense research agency, Israel has an advanced chemical weapons
program capable of producing nerve agents, mustard gas, riot control and even binary
nerve agents.
Syria on the other hand refuses to announce its chemical weapons program until Israel
abandons its nuclear weapons and has allegedly received direct assistance from Russia, China,
Iran and North Korea in developing its weapons of mass destruction.
The country is suspected of having one of the most advanced chemical warfare capabilities
in the Middle East.
According to the nuclear threat initiative Syria appears to have the capability to develop
and produce agents including Mustard Gas and Sarin and possibly also VX nerve agent.
It's been claimed that chemical weapons agents have been produced since the 1980s in the
Aleppo region.
Syria needs the help of other nations for the precursor chemicals and Iran has been
identified as the source.
Syria also possesses the military hardware capable of delivering the warheads, If you've
got questions about any of this you can drop them in the comments below and check out the
videos we've made on the alleged chemical attacks in Syria on the left here.
We'll see you again next time.