The United States decided unilaterally more than a decade ago to destroy its chemical weapons arsenal. So our only question today is whether to require other nations to do the same. The Convention with its implementing legislation is a useful tool in the fight against terrorism. Without the Convention implemented in our own country, we have no domestic federal law against cooking up poison gas here. We want those laws everywhere.
Some opponents point to the challenges of verifying such a treaty.
Without the CWC, countries like Iran, Libya and North Korea can legally maintain CW stockpiles. Libya can build the largest underground chemical weapons complex in the world, and we can know about it, and point to it, but there is no law against it. It takes our ratification to make this Convention viable. Although three-fourths of the countries of concern have signed, some of the worst rogues may not join right away. If they do not, the treaty ensures they will suffer, politically and economically.