Dr. James Ketchum, who was involved in chemical weapons research at Edgewood Arsenal and who is well informed in the field, wrote the following regarding the situation in Syria:
1. Syrian physicians and others with medical training in the areas attacked can be asked to draw blood samples in small quantities from the victims and get them to any of the labs in nearby locations that can measure the cholinesterase levels in each sample. This lab test could also be easily done in the US, UK and many other countries, a procedure developed in the Chemical Corps at Edgewood Arsenal programs of the 1950s and 1960s.
2. It can then be quickly shown that anticholinesterase weapons have been used against rebels, and possibly against the military as well. No UN visit is needed for diagnosis of nerve agent poisoning.
3. Instead of debating who should receive weapons or other military aid, we can rapidly help reduce casualties by the prompt use of adequate atropine injections. Doctors involved in treatment in Syria have already said they have insufficient atropine. We could quickly assemble and deliver thousands of syrettes of the kind that our troops in the area have been given in recent years to use by self injection when nerve gas confronts them in the field. Larger doses in containers can also be sent as well as Pam Chloride, the supplemental treatment agent tested in animals and volunteers at Edgewood Arsenal. Dr. Fred Sidell, a major Edgewood investigator who published extensively on the role volunteers played in developing treatment methods, also conducted decades of classes for thousands of American physicians in as to the best techniques of diagnosis and treatment.
4. Devices the US also developed to detect and identify chemical agents when they are present in the atmosphere will give time to seek coverage and don masks, which could also be provided by NATO and other nations to the Syrian population and distributed as needed.
5. Elementary instructions can be given to Syrian medics that will improve their ability to diagnose and treat casualties. This could be done simply by sending them printed or videotaped guidelines. High doses of atropine, for example, can be used safely when needed to treat severe casualties.
6. Since fear due to ignorance is paralyzing, reassurance can be provided by letting Syrians know that the danger of gas attack can be recognized by simple devices provided by sympathetic nations. The life-saving methods to use, involving masks and retreat to closed facilities should be promulgated. The availability of treatment agents and personnel trained to use them will add to a sense of security.
In short, the US does not need to take sides or provide weapons. Rather, we can be humanitarian and help minimize nerve agent casualties, just as the Red Cross helps those in need without regard to their military alignment."
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