Damascus: Chemical weapons – only against external aggression

The Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesman said Monday that Syria would not use chemical weapons in “the current crisis” unless it faced “external aggression.”
DEBKAfile’s military sources: The announcement ignores two issues of concern to Syria’s neighbors, including Israel, and Washington: 1) It leaves Damascus the prerogative for arbitrarily defining “external aggression.” Even now the Assad regime claims Arab and Western powers are intervening in the conflict; 2) The statement does not deny the potential transfer of Syria’s chemical arsenal to Hizballah in Lebanon..