In his op-ed, Dr. Dany Shoham reveals that while Syria’s chemical weapons program has been targeted since 2013, its extensive and secretive biological weapons (BW) program has largely escaped scrutiny. Originating in the 1970s and developed under the guise of civilian research through institutions like the SSRC and AECS, the program encompasses a wide array of agents, including ricin, botulinum toxin, anthrax, and potentially weaponized viruses such as smallpox and camel pox. Despite international agreements and disarmament efforts, many BW facilities were never inspected, and production may have continued. The recent regime change in Syria, with the Al-Julani regime replacing Assad, presents a critical opportunity to uncover and dismantle these capabilities. Dr. Dany Shoham urges the international community to act swiftly to locate, expose, and eliminate the remnants of Syria’s BW infrastructure, treating it with the same urgency once applied to its chemical weapons.

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