In one of the most unreported stories of the year, testimony from doctors and experts has confirmed claims that the Islamic State has begun using mustard gas, a dangerous and highly potent sulfer-base chemical weapon.
And ISIS has used them. Victims suffered from skin lesions,respiratory problems and redness in the eyes following a chemical attack last Friday.
While reports issued by the Pentagon denied that the Islamic State has gained access to the supposedly destroyed chemical stockpiles from Bashar Assad’s regime, the alternative is perhaps more scary; the Islamic State has learned how to produce this deadly chemical.
“Given the alleged behaviour of Isil and other such groups in the region, any such flagrant disregard for international standards and norms is reprehensible,” said US defense department spokeswoman Commander Elissa Smith.
If ISIS has learned the methods to create this chemical weapon, the potential for danger throughout Europe and the United States is at an all-time high. Even one drop of the chemical weapon could cause skin burns on people within 10 cubic meters. With the Islamic State able to create this highly potent weapon, their sleeper cells will certainly be informed of the process.
How serious is this? A football stadium is about 3.5 million cubic meters. If one ounce contains about 600 drops, with a 10% efficiency rate, only 45 gallons of mustard gas dropped via aerosol on a football game would severely burn 80,000 people, probably disfigure 20,000 and likely kill about 4,000 people. At a weight of just 500 pounds, 45 gallons could be held by nearly any vehicle, including small planes.
This threat can’t be taken lightly. Such a weapon of mass destruction has to be dealt with immidetely, and there is still no sign of the Obama administration taking this threat seriously. As an American, I find the position of hoping Russia protects us more than uncomfortable. Hopefully this discovery will finally coax Obama into taking actual action.