The flip side of this was our response when al-Qaeda elements in Iraq started affixing chlorine cylinders to their bombs. And this *was* an effective use of chemical weapons against civilians.
Our response was crystal clear. To kill every single person associated with this technique. Wipe them all out. No pretense of capture. We have no sense of humor about these things.
Since we destroyed all of our lethal chemical weapons and bacterial agents in agreements with the former Soviet Union, we reserve the use of nuclear weapons as a response to ANY attack by nuclear, biological or chemical (NBC) weapons. That is, and has been, the policy of our country for many years now, which is probably why we’ve never been attacked in such a fashion. The present occupant of the White House is trying to weaken that counterforce, which can only be on purpose.