On Monday, Syria’s dictatorship reminded the world that it possesses weapons of mass destruction.

Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi delivered the reminder in Arabic, then repeated it in English, in order to “clarify” Syria’s intent for Western media and Western audiences.

“Any stocks of WMD,” Makdissi said, “or any unconventional weapons that the Syrian Arab Republic possesses ... would never be used against the Syrian people during this crisis, in any circumstances, no matter how the crisis will evolve. ... All the stocks of these weapons ... are monitored and guarded by the Syrian Army. These weapons are meant to be used only and strictly in the event of external aggression against the Syrian Arab Republic.”