Message for Andrew and Rubato

[Guinevere]

So as long as the use of chemical weapons was "brief" it's ok?

As for who used them, only Assad and a couple of Russians assert it was the rebels. There is lots of credible evidence it was the government, and the observers/inspectors and neutrals seems to agree.

[Andrew D]

The evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that it was pro-government Syrian forces which used the chemical weapons. As the BBC observed, Human Rights Watch -- among the most respected human-rights NGOs on the planet -- summarized the matter:

The UN mission was not asked to ascertain who was behind the attack.

However, by examining the debris field and impact area where the rockets struck in Muadhamiya and Ein Tarma, the inspectors found "sufficient evidence" to calculate azimuths, or angular measurements, that allow their trajectories to be determined "with a sufficient degree of accuracy".

When plotted on a map, the trajectories converge on a site that Human Rights Watch said was a large military base on Mount Qassioun that is home to the Republican Guard 104th Brigade.

Human Rights Watch said the Syrian military was believed to have M-14 rockets, and one of the three warheads produced for them can carry 2.2kg (4.8lb) of sarin. Rebel forces were not believed to possess M-14s nor the associated BM-14 launching system, it added.

The organisation said the 330mm rockets were "of a type not listed in standard, specialised, international or declassified reference materials". However, the rocket type had been documented in a number of other attacks on opposition-held areas in recent months, it noted.

Human Rights Watch said the 330mm rockets would be compatible with the 333mm Falaq-2 launcher produced by Iran, which the Syrian government is known to possess. Videos have emerged appearing to show Syrian troops using Falaq-2 systems to launch similarly adapted rockets. Human Rights Watch said no evidence had been produced showing [that] rebel forces were in possession of the rockets or their associated launchers.

Opposition forces are also not believed to have been in possession of the amount of Sarin used in the attack - hundreds of kilograms, according to Human Rights Watch's calculations - nor to have expertise in the specialised procedures required to load chemical warheads.

Meanwhile, the Syrian military is widely believed to have more than 1,000 tonnes of chemical agents and precursor chemicals, including several hundreds of tonnes of sarin, as well as the required expertise.