Oh no! Chemical weapons...

President Obama has warned Syria - Assad, specifically - against the use of chemical weapons. While the Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesperson has confirmed that they would never use these weapons on its own people. But what about non-Syrians? If there is sufficient aggression from foreign parties, would they really deploy these chemicals? If there should be chemical warfare in Syria itself, then its citizens would undoubtedly be affected. If the chemical agents were delivered outside of Syria, then not only would there be war, but civil rife, political hostility between warring counties and a massive loss of lives. Not to mention another dark chapter in our history books.

Starting a war is one thing, but chemical warfare is one of the most undesirable and abominable forms of war that have devastating effects, especially on bystanders. Let's touch a little bit on the history of chemical warfare. For one thing, it's nothing new. It's been used even during the medieval times. Although they didn't have sarin or agent orange, they could make poison arrows, using natural sources, such as snake and scorpion venom. The ancient Chinese in 200 B.C took it a step further by pumping their chemical agent into the air. Later on, the ancient Greeks used suffocating fumes in the Trojan War. In the 20th century, mustard gas in WW1 and WW2, agent orange in the Vietnam War, nerve agents in the Cold War, etc. The list goes on. We all know the effects of agent orange such as the birth defects and people becoming maimed.

Let's not have another century marred by chemical warfare. Let's hope that all the countries which have chemical weapons to use them wisely and if possible, to never have to use them. Quote President Obama, 'We simply cannot allow the 21st century to be darkened by the worst weapons of the 20th century.'

Cheers
zhusun

Further reading:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20583966
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/03/us-usa-syrian-obama-warning-idUSBRE8B21C320121203
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jul/23/syria-chemical-warfare-threat-assad