Syria's Chemical Weapons Pose Threat to the World - Terrorism Expert

The world could face a serious threat from Syria, if the chemical weapons in Syria reach the militants, opined a global terrorism expert.

Charles Blair of the Federation of American Scientists believes that the stockpile of the Syrian chemical weapons is one of the strongest in the Arab world and it could threaten the global security if the current crisis in Syria develops in a different direction.

Blair was replying to questions in an interview to the Russia Today, on the impact of Syria's possession of weapons of mass destruction to the global peace if the crisis deepens.

"Certainly, we don't have an understanding of how large the stockpile is. So it's hard to precisely determine what the effect would be. But given the estimates of the stockpile as it is now, specifically the chemical weapons, you could see the weapons themselves used either within Syria, between different factions - if it's a civil war - that are vying for power," said Blair.

Most of the western nations are asking for the expulsion of Assad including the recent call by the French President on Friday who said the peace could not progress without the removal of the Syrian regime.

At the same time, the future of Syria after the ouster of President Bashar Assad remains question mark before the international community.

At present, the anti-regime forces including the Free Syrian Army are reportedly being supported by militant Islamists and al-Qaeda. If the country goes to the hands of the rebels, chances are high that the weapons could go into the wrongs hands.

Blair believes that Libyan weapons did not pose a similar threat when their dictator Gaddafi was ousted as the country did not have such advanced weapons as that of Syria.

The quality of the Syrian weapons is much higher when compared to Libyan's and also the stockpile is much stronger, according to Blair.

However, Blair suggests that this could be one of the reasons why the western nations are pushing for a military intervention as the country can come under the control of Free Syrian Army which in turn will make them accountable for the weapons.

The West has been so far failing to get the support of Russia and China on any tough sanction against the Syrian regime.