Hmm. I didn’t realize that I was in the presence of three forensic pathologists. I’m not sure even Cyril Wecht would go as far out on the limb based on a single photo that you all seem to be willing to go.
Time may tell what happened here, but I have no confidence that all of the facts will ever be known. And skepticism is warranted, based on prior history and is reflected throughout the news coverage. Sarin (GB) is pretty volatile, and won’t stick around long in the desert environment. However, Soman (GD) was more of a favorite of the Russians since the antidotes didn’t work as well (the acetylcholinesterase ages too fast). Being a client of the USSR, I’d have thought that Assad would lean toward their preferred flavors of WMD.
But I will defer to your expertise in the matter.