BRITAIN is preparing to fight a new "war" in Syria to stop giant chemical weapons stockpiles falling into al-Qaeda's [Al-Qa'ida] hands

General Sir David Richards insists the UK "would have to act" if the Assad [Bashar al-Asad] regime collapsed in chaos to safeguard his massive nerve agent dumps from terrorists' clutches. 

The outgoing Chief of Defence Staff -- who retires tomorrow -- dropped the bombshell in an exclusive farewell interview with The Sun. 

And he also revealed planning for a major new operation in the war-torn country, which Special Forces would lead, is well underway. 

General Richards said: "The risk of terrorism is becoming more and more dominant in our strategic vision for what we might do in Syria.

"If that risk develops, we would almost certainly have to act to mitigate it and we are ready to do so. 

"I think it is a very big question. If we saw chemical weapons proliferate as a result of what is happening in Syria then we would have to act. 

"Obviously we have contingency plans for everything." 

Pressed on whether that meant a brand new theatre of war for the armed forces, the general added: "Some could characterise that, even though it might be for a limited period, as a war". 

In a wide-ranging and highly provocative interview, General Richards also:

 -- Predicted the Taliban WILL make a comeback and retake some rural areas from the Kabul Government in eastern and southern Afghanistan after NATO combat troops pull out next year, warning: "Black flags may yet fly"

 -- Said the war in Afghanistan has "resurrected the debate" about whether women should serve alongside men on the front line

 -- Admitted that he had big differences with the PM over launching airstrikes on Colonel Gaddafi's [Mu'ammar al-Qadhafi] regime in Libya

 

 -- Issued a stern warning to the next Government in 2015 not to make any more cuts to defence with so many potential new threats in the world 

 -- And took a withering pop at Lib Dem Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander for his attack on the forces for having "more horses than tanks" branding it "a complete misunderstanding of what matters", and "a pretty feeble attempt to have a go at us" 

General Richards' powerful intervention on Syria follows a warning to MPs from MI6 chief Sir John Sawers last week over the "catastrophic consequences" that could follow from extremists seizing the fallen regime's chemical weapons dumps. 

Tyrant President Assad has built up a massive arsenal of deadly shells, rockets and bombs filled with agents such as Sarin, Tabun, VX, and mustard gas. 

Thousands of tons are spread across at least five sites and some are already known to have been used on rebels in the two year-long bitter civil war this year. 

Syria and its jihadist fighters now represent the biggest terror threat to Britain, MI6 believe. 

On the risk to ordinary Brits here, General Richards, 61, added: "The irony is that arguably the regime is more likely to keep those awful weapons under control than potentially some of the opposition groups, the hardline jihadists". 

Speaking to The Sun from his fifth floor office in the MoD [Ministry of Defence] on Whitehall, the general explained: "My planners will come up here and discuss things, but I am obviously not going to go into any more detail than that for reasons you will appreciate". 

Britain is only likely to act alongside the US, he suggested, adding: "We would have to do it as part of a wider effort because you know the scale of the challenge would be too much for any one country.

"But it has huge strategic implications beyond what might be actually quite a straightforward tactical effort." 

Serving as CDS since 2010, the former Royal Artillery officer has presided over one of the most controversial periods for the forces in modern history. 

In his three years at their helm, he devised the plan to end the Afghan war as well as beginning new operations in Libya and Mali. 

And at the same time, he has also had to enforce painful Government cuts that have reduced the Army, Navy and RAF by a fifth. 

The father of two daughters only joined up for three years because only said he "didn't know what to do". 

But he has ended up serving 42 years, adding: "I have never regretted one second of that decision to stay in". 

Amid a high flying career that included saving Sierra Leone from a rebel onslaught in 2000 while a brigadier, he also became the first British officer to command thousands of US troops since World War Two when he took charge of all NATO forces in Afghanistan in 2006. 

He describes his proudest moment as CDS as "having the privilege of leading the Armed Forces during the Jubilee Year and addressing Her Majesty at Windsor on behalf of Her Armed Forces". 

And his worst moment was hearing about Drummer Lee Rigby's murder, and fearing that it might mark the start of repeated attacks on ordinary soldiers, sailors and airmen. 

He rushed back up to London from Plymouth to take personal command of the crisis, adding: "I was very clear that we shouldn't be drawn into the politics of it. That was a pretty bad moment". 

The general said: "The thing that I will always remember to my dying day is the people. It has been a huge privilege to command. 

"Originally it was 30 people, now it is 180,000. And I never, ever expected to be there." 

General Richards will be succeeded as CDS by General Sir Nick Houghton during a ceremony on Horse Guards tomorrow.

 

The Sun Online