Hagel Claims Russia Supplied Assad with Chemical Weapons

Testifying before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said Russia may have supplied Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad with the chemical weapons he is accused of using on his own citizens.

Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) asked Hagel, “Where did these chemical weapons come from?”

Hagel said “there is no secret the Assad regime” has had a “significant stockpile” of chemical weapons. Wilson asked him if there was a particular country that may have supplied Assad with chemical weapons. 

“Well, the Russians supply ’em, others are supplying them with those chemical weapons. They make some themselves,” Hagel said. 

Russia has claimed that evidence the United States has presented regarding the chemical weapons attacks in Syria by the Assad regime is unconvincing.