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| Daily News Brief October 11, 2013 |
Top of the Agenda: Peace Prize Goes to Chemical-Weapons Watchdog
The
global chemical-weapons watchdog, the Organization for the Prohibition
of Chemical Weapons, which is tasked with destroying Syria's arsenal in
the midst of a civil war, has won the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize (Telegraph).
The Hague-based organization's head, Ahmet Uzumcu, said inspectors in
Syria are on track to destroy all Syrian chemical-weapons production
facilities by November 1 as long as all parties to the conflict cooperate with the group (al-Jazeera). The Pentagon has suggested that OPCW use a U.S.-made mobile destruction unit to neutralize Syria's stockpiles (Reuters).
Analysis
"It is not uncommon for organizations to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
It has happened 24 times since 1901. Non-proliferation has been an
occasional theme, with campaigners for nuclear disarmament and against
land mines among those recognized," Paul Adams writes for the BBC.
"Most of the ingredients for sarin are extremely sensitive to water, and some are highly flammable. There is great potential for explosive reactions.
Another difficult step is refining the excess hydrogen fluoride out of
the mix, which makes the gas storable. A short shelf life may not matter
to a terrorist, but it certainly matters if the gas is being produced a
little at a time to prepare a major attack," writes Dan Kaszeta for
Bloomberg.
"In
awarding its peace prize to the Organization for the Prohibition of
Chemical Weapons, the Nobel committee has recognized more than sixteen
years of difficult, dangerous and largely unsung work
and one of the greatest success stories in the long, patchy history of
multilateral efforts to make the world a safer place," writes Julian
Borger in the Guardian.
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