Syria conflict: 'Chemical attacks kill hundreds'

Oberon · 08-22-13, 11:38 AM

I think a lot of the fear is not so much the effects of the chemical weapons on a military level, but the fact that it's a new stage in the already bloody Syrian civil war, and it's going to cause even more fatalities than before.

Now, you take the average Scud missile, it has a payload ability of between 600-1000kg, that's about 2000lb, give or take a few hundred lb. Ironically, about the same size warhead of a V2 missile from WWII. So we can probably use this video as a fairly accurate representation of the blast effects of a conventional Scud:

http://vimeo.com/50445690
(About 17 minutes in)

And this video from Aleppo purports to show the impact of a Scud:

Now, with a conventional explosive blast there is a chance, in some cases, a very slim chance of survivors, especially if you're in a basement or some such place, which is where a lot of the casualties of this recent attack were. With a chemical attack, the basement is the worst place to be, and the likelihood of survival without protective equipment is lower.

Assad knows he can get away with pretty much anything because the West won't intervene because the general public of the West doesn't have the stomach for it, nor indeed do they really know which side to support.

Things fall apart, the centre cannot hold
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world

08-22-13, 11:38 AM	#9
Oberon Lucky Jack Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 25,976 Downloads: 61 Uploads: 20	I think a lot of the fear is not so much the effects of the chemical weapons on a military level, but the fact that it's a new stage in the already bloody Syrian civil war, and it's going to cause even more fatalities than before. Now, you take the average Scud missile, it has a payload ability of between 600-1000kg, that's about 2000lb, give or take a few hundred lb. Ironically, about the same size warhead of a V2 missile from WWII. So we can probably use this video as a fairly accurate representation of the blast effects of a conventional Scud: http://vimeo.com/50445690 (About 17 minutes in) And this video from Aleppo purports to show the impact of a Scud: Now, with a conventional explosive blast there is a chance, in some cases, a very slim chance of survivors, especially if you're in a basement or some such place, which is where a lot of the casualties of this recent attack were. With a chemical attack, the basement is the worst place to be, and the likelihood of survival without protective equipment is lower. Assad knows he can get away with pretty much anything because the West won't intervene because the general public of the West doesn't have the stomach for it, nor indeed do they really know which side to support. Things fall apart, the centre cannot hold Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world Last edited by Oberon; 08-22-13 at 11:59 AM.