Everything you need to know about Syria’s chemical weapons

Washington Post  "The Obama administration’s case for striking Syria hinges on the question of chemical weapons. The Syrian government allegedly used nerve gas on civilians, and that violates long-standing norms. So, the White House argues, the regime needs to be punished.

That’s the short version. But let’s step back and unpack this for a moment. Why, exactly, are chemical weapons so horrible? Where did Syria get its weapons? And what is Bashar al-Assad’s regime suspected of doing? Here’s a primer:.....

"Just how solid is the intelligence that the Syrian government actually used chemical weapons?
"Most of the details are still classified, so it’s hard for the public to know. Secretary of State John Kerry laid out the broad brushstrokes on Tuesday:"....

"Is there reason to doubt the Syrian government used chemical weapons?
"One note of skepticism has come from William R. Polk, who served on the State Department’s Policy Planning staff during the Kennedy years. ”Assad had much to lose and his enemies had much to gain [from the use of chemical weapons],” wrote Polk. “That conclusion does not prove who did it, but it should give us pause to find conclusive evidence which we do not now have.”