The Damascus regime should reflect on the fundamental disutility of chemical weapons. They are rightly abhorred by the international community. They are of questionable battlefield use, indiscriminate, unpredictable and contaminating, usually employed where fronts are relatively static such as in World War I or the Iran/Iraq War in the 1980s. They are also used as terror weapons, such as during the latter conflict when Iraqi official Ali Hassan al-Majid, aka “Chemical Ali,” used chemical weapons to punish, intimidate and slaughter Kurds who were suspected of disloyalty to Saddam Hussein’s regime. Chemical Ali was later tried by the post-Saddam government and found guilty for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. He was executed in 2010.

The Assad regime is following the Chemical Ali pattern, employing the weapons against civilians in rebel-held areas and whoever else is in the target zone. So a strong war crimes case can be made, both for the use of the weapons, which is illegal under the Chemical Weapons Convention, and also for the way they are being used, to murder non-combatants. Investigating and documenting these crimes will play an increasingly important role as the military phase of the Syrian civil war winds down and diplomatic efforts ramp up.