Washington, London Reject Syrian Right to WMD

U.S. and British officials have said that Syria must abandon its weapons of mass destruction, even without a pledge by Israel to give up its long-suspected nuclear weapons arsenal, the London Telegraph reported today (see GSN, Jan. 7).

In an interview this week, Syrian President Bashar Assad said that Syria would not abandon its WMD programs unless Israel did the same with its suspected stockpile of nuclear weapons. The United Kingdom and the United States, however, have taken the position that Arab states with weapons of mass destruction must first disarm and then the Israelis, according to the Telegraph.

“Israel is in a unique position as the only state whose very existence is threatened,” a senior British government source said yesterday. “There is no point asking for a WMD-free Middle East while there are countries parading missiles with a sign up the side saying ‘Death to Israel,’” the source said (Anton La Guardia, London Telegraph, Jan. 7).

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