Pentagon Extends Deadline to Destroy Chemical Weapons
Here in the United States, USA Today is reporting the Pentagon has quietly extended
a deadline to destroy its arsenal of chemical weapons. The delay comes despite concerns
over an increasing risk of accident or theft. The Pentagon's stockpile includes deadly
nerve gases and skin-blistering agents. Under the new plan, the weapons will be
destroyed in 2023 -- eleven years after the deadline set by the international Chemical
Weapons Convention. Communities near the chemical sites are expressing outrage.

Craig Williams, a spokesperson for the Kentucky-based Chemical Weapons Working
Group said: "To intentionally put tens of thousands of Americans at an unnecessary
risk by continuing to store these weapons is reprehensible. Not only are they ignoring
our international treaty obligations, they are undermining the military's . . .  obligation
to protect U.S. citizens."