US: Syria Mobilizing Chemical Weapons

Syria is pulling many of its chemical weapons out of storage facilities, for reasons that aren't entirely clear, US officials tell the Wall Street Journal. Some believe Assad is simply moving the weapons to a safer location, or attempting to spook rebel-friendly Sunnis. But others believe he intends to use them against rebels or civilians. "The regime has a plan for ethnic cleansing, and we must come to terms with this," says one US official. "There is no diplomatic solution."

"This is absolutely ridiculous and untrue," a Syrian foreign ministry spokesman said. "If the US is so well-informed, why can't they help Kofi Annan in stopping the flow of illegal weapons?" But rebels say they've captured equipment from Syrian forces that appears designed to protect them from chemical weapons. Syria didn't sign the 1992 chemical weapons ban, and has stores of sarin, mustard gas, and cyanide. US and Jordanian special forces are working on a plan to secure those stockpiles if Assad's regime falls. (More Syria stories.)