Say you are the commander of a nation’s military. You have an arsenal of sarin, VX and other chemical weapons in your possession but have deliberately refrained from their use.
A neighboring enemy has invaded your nation. You have been waging conventional-warfare resistance. A few weeks into the war, this enemy invader falsely reports to the international media that your side is using chemical weapons in contravention of international law.
Now, assuming that the international community believes your enemy’s word, and that if you do use chemical weapons, they could potentially turn the tide of the war in your favor, would you now indeed use chemical weapons on the grounds of, “Since we are now viewed as guilty regardless of whethet we used chem agents or not, we might as well use them?”
I don’t care what the circumstance is; no. Something about chemical/biological fighting/weapons that just goes against the very core of my soul. I can’t express what or why but to me that is just not an option and never should be.
(And in case you are wondering - I could live with an atomic bomb. Yeah – I know – but that I could accept and order if I was in a position to do so.
If it was vital to victory I’d do it, and I’d do it regardless of the scenario laid out in the OP. I wouldn’t do it if I could avoid it, because of the PR hit, but I’ve never understood what was so inhumane about poison gas compared to cluster bombs, white phosphorus, napalm, fuel-air explosives or any of the other horrors of modern war.
It’s never a good idea to confirm the incorrect rumors about yourself. What they think now isn’t important. The fact that you have them but don’t use them would be good evidence in your favor. Especially if you offer to prove it by disposing of them under scrutiny.
“They think I did it, so I might as well actually do it” is movie logic, not something that makes sense in real life. Morality isn’t based on what other people think about you.
I ordered that all of the chemical weapons in my arsenal be destroyed within twenty-four hours of assuming absolute power in my nation, and I invited UN representatives to observe my order being carried out.
So the situation described in the OP is a pack of damnable LIES, and I have ordered my Justice Minister to issue a warrant for the immediate arrest of Velocity to face charges of treason.
Just to be on the safe side, I have ordered the Joint Chiefs of Staff of my Department of Defense to launch a comprehensive investigation of all aspects of my WMD liquidation program, to confirm that my orders were carried out without exception.
If my country was being invaded, I’d use any weapon at my disposal to defend it. I’d be most hesitant to use biological weapons, but if I run out of chemical weapons and nukes, I’d use biological. And when I run out of those, I’ll use rocks if that’s all I have left. Surrender is not an option.