“Middle East experts” are usually out to lunch.
One of the assumptions is that Syria actually has a lot of these stocks. Personally, I think his willingness to turn them over means he really doesn’t have much.
Chemical weapons are hard to use because you have to protect your own forces, they degrade over time, they are banned by practically every international convention, and they’re probably more trouble than they’re worth as a major part of a country’s defensive strategy.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t any, but simply that this is probably not the greatest immediate threat.
Obama has thrown in the lot of the US on the side of the Islamists, who want the gas reserves for themselves and their Saudi masters. At the same time, Russia has taken the side of Syria which is a client of Iran, and these three countries also want access to or control of the gas reserves.
The Islamists think they’re extending Islam, and so does Iran; Syria and Russia know that it’s all about the money. Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, is using the Islamists to get them more money.
And Obama, the little Muslim wannabe, doesn’t know a darn thing about anything.
I think that’s about the size of things. As for how much WMD is in play, the types and who has it, or can cook it or mix it, who knows?