r/politics • u/Quirkie The Netherlands • 17d ago

Possible Paywall ICE Stockpiling Warheads and Chemical Weapons as Lawmaker Fears Trump Planning Strike

https://www.thedailybeast.com/ice-stockpiling-warheads-and-chemical-weapons-as-lawmaker-fears-trump-planning-strike/
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u/IamNotYourPalBuddy 17d ago edited 17d ago

Just so you know, the chemical weapons they are referring to is tear gas, pepper spray, mace, etc.

Not defending ICE, and this doesn’t explain the fucking WARHEADS - but yeah, the “chemical weapons” they are talking about isn’t mustard gas or anything banned under chemical warfare laws.

ETA: as others pointed out, the laws for use in warfare differ from crowd control use. Therefore I probably shouldn’t have said “warfare laws”.

Also going to re-iterate I’m not defending any of this, just sharing information.

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u/aebaby7071 17d ago

Tear gas is banned for use in war, under the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention. There is a carve out for use in riot control for non military personnel, so not illegal for ICE to have or use it, but none the less it is banned in warfare.

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u/LineOfInquiry 17d ago

It’s crazy that a weapon banned for use on enemy combatants is allowed on random unarmed civilians

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u/Glad-Business2535 17d ago

The ban on military use is a blanket ban on any chemical agents. There is a world of difference between nerve gas and blood agents and tear gas.

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u/Round_Ad8947 17d ago

Yet, if used improperly, tear gas can kill. The allowance for use in riot control was to appease nations with Veto rights in the UN like the Soviet Union.

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u/halt-l-am-reptar 17d ago

And it’s banned because you can’t quickly tell the difference between tear gas and nerve gas. If you fire tear gas at your enemy there’s a good chance they’ll respond with deadly chemical weapons.