SYRIA thread

[Sarmatian]

No, I have not said that only a state can produce Sarin. It is a fact, however, that the Syrian state produced chemical weapons before the war and therefore much more likely that any Sarin would be pre-existing stock, which therefore would be binary agents impossible to release by bombing the storage facilities. It's possible that one or more rebel factions have made more chemical weapons, but it's again much more likely that they would copy the established techniques including binary agents rather than successfully embark on a new research pathway to allow Sarin be stored ready for use. The Russian claims therefore stay ridiculous: again the issue is not how easy it is to make chemical weapons, but how likely it is they could be released accidentally.

1) there were reports of Al Nusra making sarin and using it before (long before this attack)
2) reports mentioned sarin was being produced in Iraq
3) unitary sarin was actually produced first, a long time ago, it is not a "new research path"
4) binary sarin is more advanced, more complicated to produce and harder to deploy. To deploy unitary sarin you just break the container. For binary, you have to have a complicated mechanism to make sure the precursors mix at the right time. Even Iraqi army in the Gulf War had troubles with that. Google for reports US soldier surviving sarin attacks almost unscathed because of faulty mechanism. Iraqis used unitary sarin for the most part.
5) Al Nusra and other terrorist groups have a large number of ex Baathist in their ranks

About 2013 Aleppo attack, a UN commission concluded that there was not enough evidence to say with certainty who perpetrated the attack, but a day before, Carla Del Ponte came out and said that the available evidence, witness testimonies, medical reports etc... suggested it was the rebels who actually did it. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-22424188. Immediately after the attack, everyone was certain it was Assad. There was no other possibility. And then the investigation says, "we can't say for sure, but it was most likely not Assad".

You may wanna familiarize yourself with stuff before you take such an uncompromising stance. Seriously, just use google. It's a great start. Some interesting keywords : Assad, Syria, Iraq, gas, sarin, Aleppo, UN, Al Nusra, ISIS, OPCW... mix and match, see what you get.