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Author Archives: Charles Duelfer
Syrian CW – “Funtional Destruction”
The OPCW-UN inspectors for Syria have “completed the functional destruction of critical equipment for all of its declared chemical weapons production facilities and mixing/filling plants, rendering them inoperable.” This is seven weeks after President Obama, in a dramatic prime time … Continue reading
Posted in Syria CW, United Nations, WMD
Tagged Sergey Lavrov, Syria, Syrian CW, UN Security Council
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Syrian CW – Major Progress Continues – Who’s Left with CW?
While US media fixated on the budget scrum in Washington, things have been moving ahead toward the goal of eliminating Syrian CW. Status. On the ground, inspectors are continuing to inventory and verify Syrian facilities, equipment and munitions. They … Continue reading
Posted in Syria CW, United Nations, WMD
Tagged CWC, Disarmament, Lavrov, Middle East WMD, OPCW, Russia, UN Security Council
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UN Security Council Resolution on Syrian CW–Good, But Who’s in Charge?
The UN process took a good step forward with the approval of UNSCR 2118 (http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2013/sc11135.doc.htm). It is important to remember that this will be the mechanism for eliminating the Syrian CW. The other UN activity–headed by Ake Sellstrom and presently … Continue reading
Posted in Syria CW, Uncategorized, United Nations, WMD
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The Syrian CW Declaration…So far, so good
Syria has taken the first critical step in the process laid out by Lavrov and Kerry last week in Geneva. Damascus made its initial declaration of its chemical weapons inventory and infrastructure to the technical secretariat of the Organization for … Continue reading
Posted in Iraq, Syria CW, United Nations, WMD
Tagged Chemical Weapons, Lavrov, Lavrov Susan Rice, President Obama and UNGA, s, Syria, Syrian CW, Weapons Inspections, WMD
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The Syrian Framework Agreement
The Framework agreement and its two annexes get many things right. The burden of proof and all the heavy lifting are on Syria. The UN weapons inspectors are meant to verify Syrian declarations, direct the aggregation and ultimate disposal of … Continue reading
Lavrov-Kerry Agreement on Syria-Now What?
Sometimes things work out. This may be one of those occasions. It appears the US has agreed with the general Lavrov proposition that an arrangement similar to what was imposed upon Saddam in the 1990’s be applied to Syria. This … Continue reading
Posted in Iraq, Syria CW, United Nations, WMD
Tagged CW, Kerry, Lavrov, Norway, Sergey Lavrov, Syria, UN Security Council
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Lavrov’s Plan
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has offered a plan that could provide a way out of the Obammá Syrian dilemma. Lavrov, who was Russian ambassador to the UN during the height of the Iraqi-UN weapons inspection activities, seems to have … Continue reading
Posted in Intelligence, Iran, Syria CW, United Nations, WMD
Tagged Duelfer, Lavrov Susan Rice, Syria, UN, weapons inspectors
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At times like this, What would Saddam do?
Among the various rationales expressed for a military strike on Syria is that need to make Bashir al-Assad pay a price for using CW. But what does Bashir value? We learned from debriefing Saddam that his value structure was much … Continue reading
Posted in Intelligence, Syria CW, United Nations, WMD
Tagged CW, Lavrov, Russia, Syria, United Nations
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Obama’s Speech to the UNGA: Two very different Versions
On September 17, will President Obama be explaining to the UN General Assembly why the US acted alone to respond to Syrian atrocities when the UN would not, or will he be chastising the UN for a lack of action, … Continue reading
Posted in Intelligence, Iraq, Syria CW, United Nations, WMD
Tagged Intelligence, President Obama and Syria, Syria WMD, UN General Assembly, United Nations
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Syria CW: How Can We Make it Worse?
Answer: The United States could destroy Bashir’s control over his chemical weapons. ForeignPolicy.com and others report that communications intercepts suggest some confusion over the order to use CW. If you were to make a list of things to worry about, … Continue reading
Posted in Intelligence, Syria CW, Uncategorized, WMD
Tagged Chemical Weapons, Syrian CW, WMD
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