US destroys the last of its chemical weapons stockpile

The Washington Post

The United States’s last declared chemical weapon – an aging rocket filled with sarin nerve agent – was destroyed late last week at a Kentucky munitions plant, the Pentagon affirmed Monday, ending a decades-long operation to cull U.S. stocks of deadly toxins.

Chemical agents, whose terrifying use throughout World War I led to global proliferation despite their horrifying effects, are considered weapons of mass destruction. They can disperse

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From Page 5 services committee’s top Democrat, Rep. Adam Smith (Wash.), charged that “a few Republicans hijacked the bill to push their social agenda and their extreme MAGA agenda” - referring to “Make America Great Again,” a rallying cry among conservatives loyal to former president Donald Trump. Democrats have sought to portray “MAGA Republicans” as espousing the party’s most polarizing and dangerous views, including those concerning abortion, equality and LGBTQ rights.

“We’ve taken some steps over the four years that we were in the majority to get the Pentagon to make sure that they did a better job of recruiting and making sure that people in historically marginalized communities - primarily LGBTQ women and people of color . . . know that they’re welcome within the military, because historically they have not been,” Smith said, referring to Republican proposals to repeal those measures.

The country’s armed forces are facing a major recruiting challenge, Smith noted, and eliminating diversity and inclusion initiatives hinders the military’s ability to recruit talented gases, liquids, aerosols or powders intended to kill or incapacitate their victims. Some cause a person’s skin to blister. Others induce suffocation or destroy the nervous system.

At its peak, the U.S. chemical weapons stockpile measured about 30,000 metric tons.

Congress directed the weapons’ eradication in 1986. The Chemical Weapons Convention of 1997, which the United States joined with 192 countries to forbid their creation and stockpiling, required complete elimination by Sept. 30. Since then, individuals from marginalized groups.

Lawmakers also are divided - though not always along party lines - over the administration’s approach to China and Ukraine. More than 60 amendments concern U.S. policy toward China, Chinese people or Chinese entities, including some that Democrats say appear to be racist.

Republicans also submitted nearly 20 separate amendments to cut back on or eliminate U.S. security assistance to Ukraine and NATO - proposals that stoked debate Tuesday and are likely to expose intraparty tensions if they go to the House floor.

“We should not be devoting time and resources and putting the people of Ukraine over American citizens,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said, urging her colleagues to consider three proposals she introduced to defund the war effort in Ukraine.

Leading Republicans in the Armed Services Committee on Tuesday urged their Rules Committee colleagues to stick to relevant amendments, with Rogers imploring them to focus on those “that advance the security of our nation and the needs of our service members.”

In the Senate, the partisan rift over abortion access has had enormous implications for the military’s promotion process.

3.5 million munitions were dismantled along with thousands of containers used to store their agents, U.S. officials have said.

It has taken more than a decade to destroy the last 10 percent, the Pentagon said. And while the United States was the last participating country to have finished culling its chemical weapons stocks, officials pointed to a congressional requirement to develop a safe and environmentally conscious alternative to incineration as one factor responsible for drawing out the process.

“Destroying the remainder

For the past seven months, Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) has blocked military confirmations and promotions in the Senate Armed Services Committee in a bid to pressure the Pentagon to abandon its policy.

As a consequence, the Marine Corps this week witnessed the departure of its top general without a Senate-confirmed successor. Vigorous floor debate is posed a greater challenge because it involved the more complicated approach of neutralizing these munitions’ chemicals,” Douglas Bush, an Army assistant secretary, told reporters Monday. important, Rep. Rob Wittman (RVa.) said in an interview Tuesday. But ultimately, “all of us need to look at getting behind a bill that ensures that our men and women of the military will have the tools they need to be the most lethal and effective fighting force in the world.”

The United States also helped other nations – including Russia, Libya and Albania – destroy their stockpiles, officials said.

Though China and Russia are signatories of the pledge to end their chemical weapons programs and eliminate their stocks, U.S. officials said they have concerns about whether they have followed through.

Committee members in both parties have sought to emphasize the legislation’s bipartisan

“We have questions about some of the destruction of China’s stockpile,” Mallory Stewart, the assistant secretary of state for arms control, verification and compliance. “We also have concerns, specifically, with respect to the undeclared chemical weapons that Russia is maintaining,” pointing to Kremlin-linked attacks on a spy and a dissident. Syrian troops launched a chlorine gas attack as recently as 2018, killing 43 civilians, a chemical weapons watchdog concluded in January. It’s one of See STOCKPILE Page 13 wins, including its robust funding to bolster the defense industrial base - a deepening concern as the Pentagon has raided its stocks of artillery munitions to aid Ukraine - and modernize the military by retiring outdated aircraft, ships and weapons systems while investing in the development of advanced satellites, drones and munitions.

Dransfiled, 60th Dental Squadron resident. “Having the opportunity to learn from experts at UC Davis gave me the confidence to be an option for MWD dental care. This joint training offered a glimpse into a new realm of dentistry that I have not considered before.” studying working dogs in various contexts, such as their performance, health, and well-being, we can contribute to developing improved veterinary dental care and overall maintenance and rehabilitation of the oral health of working dogs during training and after trauma.”

The joint symposium is a testament to the power of collaboration. Both Arnason and Ellis expressed their gratitude for the opportunity to work side by side with UC Davis Veterinary School’s faculty and students.

The collaboration serves as an example of the power of community partnerships and their ability to drive significant positive change. The joint commitment helps to ensure the MWDs serving at Travis Air Force Base and beyond receive the dental care required to serve.

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From Page 7 residents and that impact will extend beyond the immediate benefit to MWDs at Travis AFB.

“Conducting this training with our residents acts as a force multiplier as they will take this knowledge gained at Travis AFB and disperse across the globe, bringing their enhanced MWD operational training to remote assignments,” said Ellis. “The symposium bridges the gap between dental school and Air Force mission requirements to ensure that