Syria agrees to shift control of chemical weapons, leaving Assad free to continue slaughter of civilians conventionally.

— lawhawk (@lawhawk) September 10, 2013

I’m happy that a deal looks like it’s going to get done. Securing the chemical weapons is a huge deal and reduces the chances that the weapons get loose - whether by rogue Assad generals or rebel forces that have come into possession of the weapons.

The question will be how this gets done. The UN will be involved in some capacity, but the ability to secure and neutralize the weapons rests with either Russia or the US, and the US has been more successful in eliminating its chemical weapons stocks than Russia. Russia has lacked the financial ability or tech to reduce its stockpiles in the way that the US has done.

It’s possible that the Russians will take possession of the weapons, which will be transferred and shipped to the US for destruction in either Colorado or Kentucky, where two chemical depots are in the process of eliminating the rest of the US stockpile (other sites like Tooele and Johnson Atoll have already decommissioned their neutralization equipment having eliminated their local stockpiles).