Somehow lost in the fury and indignation of the Obama administration over Syria’s chemical weapons is the fact that the United States has chemical weapons of its own. Whereas Secretary of State John Kerry called such weapons “a moral obscenity” and gave Syria one week to turn over its chemical weapons, the U.S. has yet to finish the destruction of its own stockpile.
The production of such weapons by the U.S. began during World War 1 and lasted until 1969, although deadly herbicides and defoliants were still used until 1971. The U.S. still produces biological weapons.
The US did not renounce chemical weapons until 1997. Despite the tight time frame given to Syria to get rid of its chemical weapons, and despite promises to destroy all its weapons by 2012, the US has yet to completely get rid of its own supply.
It is estimated we have destroyed all but just over 10% of our original stockpile, still one has to think our indignation over Syria’s chemical weapons might have had more gravity had we not such weapons of our own.