Chemical weapons weapons of mass destruction essay. Since the invasion into iraq in 2003, weapons of mass destruction wmd, have come to general notice. Weapons of mass destruction weapons of mass destruction 1 introduction 2 the term 1 early uses of term 1. Weapons of mass destruction this is a wikipedia book, a collection of wikipedia articles that can be easily saved, imported by an external electronic rendering service, and ordered as a printed book. This chemical attack, which amounted to the first use of a weapon of mass destruction, marks a turning point in world history. The first chemical weapon used effectively in battle was chlorine gas, which burns. A weapon of mass destruction wmd is something capable of inflicting mass casualties andor destroying or rendering highvalue assets as useless. Understanding, assessing, and responding to terrorism. Not only is the use of such weapons highly controversial, but also the very idea of such weapons of mass destruction being in the hands of dangerous leaders. A weapon of mass destruction is a nuclear, biological or chemical weapon able to cause widespread devastation and loss of life. An atomic bomb exploded over a densely populated city could kill hundreds of thousands of people instantaneously and, as the lethal effects.
Apr 10, 2007 preparedness is the best weapon against terrorism understanding, assessing, and responding to terrorism. Weapon of mass destruction wmd chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons that cause damage, destroy, or contaminate an extraordinarily wide area or inflict widescale sickness, death, or injury. Only one chapter each is devoted to chemical and biological weapons, respectively. We use tear gas for crowd control, laughing gas to knock someone out, and many different types of anesthesia and crowd control devices that are considered small scale chemical weapons of mass destruction wmd. Examples of chemical weapons are mustard gas, ricin and lewisite. Contrary to the views of many pundits, there is an authoritative definition for wmd. The alleged iraqi retention, after the persian gulf war ceasefire, of chemical weapons and other weapons of mass destruction was the main pretext for the 2003 u.
Weapons of mass destruction an overview sciencedirect topics. Radiological weapon weapons that disperse radioactive agents to inflict injury or cause contamination or damage. It is because of their inhumane effects, as well as the fact. The basics of chemical and biological weapons howstuffworks.
Raising the specter of wmd is more a way by which politicians as. The subtitle, the nononsense guide to nuclear, chemical and biological weapons today, is a bit of a misnomer. Weapons studies and author of the book, countering weapons of mass destruction. When tom lehrer sang well all go together when we go, the world was gripped by fear of nuclear holocaust. Among the weapons of mass destruction wmd, chemical warfare cw is probably one of the most brutal created by mankind. Weapons of mass destruction free college essay examples. A chemical weapon is any toxic chemical that can cause death, injury, incapacitation, and sensory irritation, deployed via a delivery system, such as an artillery shell, rocket, or ballistic missile. And actually, most chemical weapons are not considered wmds. Covering issues relevant to teens, these fullcolor books present the information needed to analyze some of the most controversial and challenging topics in todays news and to help empower teenagers. The german army initiated modern chemical warfare by launching a chlorine attack at ypres, belgium, on april 22, 1915, killing 5,000 french and algerian troops and momentarily. Geophysical and environmental weapons are covered more briefly. Essentially, there are three types of weapons of mass destruction, namely.
In a conflict responsible for the deaths of 500,000 people, most of them. An effective attack using a chemical or biological agent can easily kill thousands of people. Chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear cbrn weapon. Weapons of mass destruction, as classified by the fbi, are any destructive devices, chemical or biological agents used with the intention of causing death or injury on a large scale. Freeing the world of nuclear, biological and chemical arms 2006, by weapons of mass destruction commission, contrib. An atomic bomb exploded over a densely populated city could kill hundreds of thousands of people instantaneously and, as the lethal effects of radiation exposure take hold, causes many. The most prominent example is the use of chlorine by germany in ypres, in 1915. Weapons of mass destruction currently the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, particularly nuclear weapons, provides the most serious threat to international security. It comes straight from a united nations commission in 1947. Chemical weapons are uniquely terrifying weapons of mass destruction.
A weapon of mass destruction is a nuclear, radiological, chemical, biological, or other device that is intended to harm a large number of people. All three are strictly controlled by international agreements, because of how dangerous they are. The event marked both the culmination of many years of painstaking negotiations in the conference on disarmament and preparatory commission and the birth of an international chemical weapons disarmament regime headed by the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons opcw. Nov 01, 2006 this is a war being waged for reasons obscure to many of its potential victims. The currently accepted acronym is cbrne which includes chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive weapons. Free essay on weapons of mass destruction wow essays. Chemical weapons weapons of mass destruction chemical weapons and their use is one of the most important issues facing the world today. Why are chemical weapons worse than other weapons of mass. Cw agents are extremely toxic synthetic chemicals that can be dispersed as a gas, liquid or aerosol or as agents adsorbed to particles to become a powder. There is also an open question about the destruction of old and abandoned chemical weapons and about chemical weapons sunken in the sea or deposited under the ground. An example of an organization that learned to produce and use chemical weapons is the aum shinrikyo sect in japan, members of which used sarin nerve agent to kill 12 people and injure more than 1,000 in a march 1995 chemical weapons attack inside the tokyo subway system. Weapons of mass destruction are weapons that cause a high loss of life within a short time span. They claim that chemical terrorism is more likely to be small in scale.
But libya, iraq, iran and north korea and others are building weapons of mass destruction, nuclear, biological and chemical. The term is integral to the international communitys longstanding disarmament dialogue. When looking for books on the general category of weapons of mass destruction, theres not a lot of original, insightful literature. Apr 25, 2018 the use of chemical weapons in the syrian civil war appears to be occasional and somewhat isolated, rather than systematic. A dirty bomb using a conventional explosion to disperse radioactive contaminants is one such type of weapon, but this could also encompass other ways to disperse nuclear contaminates, such as through a food or water source. Chemical weapon chemical weapon weapons of mass destruction. These weapons have been used in history, but most are banned to due to the extent of destruction caused. Second, the scope of north koreas nuclear, chemical, and suspected biological weapons. Exposure to sarin gas, a colorless, odorless nerve agent used repeatedly in syria, leads to muscle twitches, unconsciousness, paralysis of respiratory organs and eventually a horrifying, death through asphyxiation.
Chemical weapons are considered weapons of mass destruction and their use in armed conflict is a violation of international law. A debate, as opposed to the deterrence perspective of his co. The fifth president of iraq, saddam hussein, was internationally condemned for his use of chemical weapons during the 1980s campaign against. In contrast to other transnational security challenges, the united nations has a long history of involvement with efforts to combat the danger posed by weapons of mass destruction. Vahid majidi, the fbi s assistant director in charge of the fbi s weapons of mass destruction directorate, tells newsmax. With the collapse of the soviet union, the threat was assumed to have gone away. Although chemical, biological, nuclear, and radiological weapons often serve as examples of wmd, many things can be used as a wmd. Some experts have asserted that the volumes of chemicals required to cause mass casualties makes that scenario unlikely. Weapons of mass destruction can be better identified as nuclear weapons, biological weapons, chemical weapons, or radiological weapons. The two most dangerous kinds of chemical weapons are nerve agents and vesicant, or blister, agents. The term weapons of mass destruction wmd refers to weapons that can cause multiple deaths and severe damage to over a short period of time.
Thus, it seems that the era of chemical weapons as one of the traditional technologies for weapons of mass destruction has been terminated. Like nuclear and biological weapons, chemical weapons are often classified as weapons of mass destruction. Even when identified, cleaning it up can be extremely hard and almost impossible. Like a nuclear bomb, a chemical or biological weapon is a weapon of mass destruction. Books specifically discussing nuclear weapons or the. Weapons of mass destruction include atomic explosive weapons, radioactive material weapons, lethal chemical and biological weapons, and any weapons developed in the future which have characteristics comparable in destructive effect to those of the atomic bomb or other weapons.
Although policy makers worry about the use of weapons of mass destruction. The book concludes that it is an urgent necessity to reach a universal accord on a comprehensive ban on the use or possession of weapons of mass destruction. Chemical weapons did not become true weapons of mass destruction wmd until they were introduced in their modern form in world war i 191418. Most weapons used in chemical warfare are considered to beweapons of mass destruction or, wmds.
List of books and articles about biochemical warfare. Defining weapons of mass destruction this paper rejects such arguments. Chemical warfare is not the same as nuclear warfare, or the same as biological warfare. A great deal of literature exists on international regimes and their attempts to curb the proliferation of. He clarifies many current day perceptions on chemical weapons by analyzing treaties and political decisions. Bush administration to nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction wmd seems to coincide with the perspective of scott sagan in the spread of nuclear weapons. Weapons of mass destruction use and proliferation challenges 7 i. A chemical weapon cw is a specialized munition that uses chemicals formulated to inflict death or harm on humans. Chapter 6 weapons of mass destruction national defense. The term weapon of mass destruction has been in existence since the 1930s. Rather than rely on perfunctory assumptions of those treaties, he analyzes the committee notes and conduct of those treaties to show the conflict of ideas within. However, not all nations have been willing to cooperate with. The term weapons of mass destruction wmd, used to encompass nuclear nw, biological bw, and chemical weapons cw, is misleading, politically dangerous, and cannot be justified on grounds of military efficiency.
This had been pointed out previously by the author 1 and discussed in considerable detail in ref. Weapons of mass destruction include nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons plus radiological weapons and some others with potential for mass destruction fas 2001. Weapon of mass destruction an overview sciencedirect. A weapon of mass destruction wmd is a nuclear, radiological, chemical, biological, or any other weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to numerous humans or cause great damage to humanmade structures e. They can be nuclear, chemical or biological weapons. Why are chemical weapons considered weapons of mass. Chemical weapon, any of several chemical compounds, usually toxic agents, that are intended to kill, injure, or incapacitate. The book mostly covers the development of nuclear bombswarheads and their delivery systems. The disintegration of the soviet union has left a vast arsenal of nuclear and chemical weapons scattered across eastern europe and asia. Protecting critical infrastructure and personnel gives a detailed explanation of how to implement preventive andor protective measures to ensure the safety of personnel and facilities. It would also take a lot of time, money and effort. After the september 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the united states, there is a high risk perception of possible terrorist attacks with chemical weapons.
It is probably the easiest of all weapons of mass destruction to obtain. Chemical weapon weapons of mass destruction britannica. Nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, or weapons of mass destruction wmd, present a serious danger in todays world. These rundown bases, with poorly paid security personnel, are an open invitation to terrorists or the agents of any state with the money and determination to obtain weapons of mass destruction. A chemical weapon is any weapon that uses a manufactured chemical to kill people.
A weapon of mass destruction wmd or womd is a weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to a large number of humans andor cause great damage to manmade structures e. The term weapon of mass destruction usually refers to nuclear, radiological, biological, or chemical weapons. Weapons of mass destruction essay examples 792 words cram. Chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear cbrn weapon a less commonly used phrase with essentially the same meaning as nuclear, biological, chemical nbc weapon. Now, small scale chemical weapons are used on a daily basis. William gay 2003 in his book weapons of mass destruction rightly states that nuclear weapons are the most grave among weapons of mass destruction. Chemical warfare involves using the deadly properties of chemical substances as weapons. United nations weapons inspectors gave a mixed account on monday. Agents that can be used as weapons of mass destruction. Weapons of mass destruction and millions of other books are available for. Much of it is technically focused on describing the dangerous nature of chemical and biological warfare agents or the historical use of said weapons in the past. Chemical weapons are defined as liquids and gases that choke their victims, poison their blood, blister their skin, or disrupt their nervous system. The german army initiated modern chemical warfare by launching a chlorine attack at ypres, belgium, on april 22, 1915, killing 5,000 french and algerian troops and momentarily breaching their lines of defense. The preparation as well as the execution of the gas attack was orchestrated by fritz haber, the director of the kaiser wilhelm institute for physical chemistry and electrochemistry in berlindahlem.
Chemical weapons, devices used for the sole purpose of hurting or killing humans, are widely considered one of the four types of weapons of mass destruction. Chemical weapons work mainly through toxicity, which is a chemical action on life processes that can cause death, temporary. Weapons of mass destruction and the environment sipri. A weapon of mass destruction or wmd is a weapon that has the ability to kill or harm huge numbers of people. It is time to recognize these weapons for what they are personal weapons of mass destruction. The department of homeland security works every day to prevent terrorists and other threat actors from using these weapons. This phrase is probably more technically correct because dirty bombs are not truly nuclear weapons, but rather radiological weapons. The treaty is enforced by the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons. The salisbury incident shows that it is not analytically useful to place chemical weapons attacks on individuals and largescale chemical weapons use during military conflicts in the same nebulous category of weapons of mass destruction. They reported that iraq has still failed to explain what happened to various missiles and chemical and biological weapons.
Libyas supply of mustard gas was completely destroyed in january 2014. In different sources the phrase may be seen as nbc nuclear, biological and chemical weapons or cbr chemical, bacteriological and radiological weapons. List of books and articles about weapons of mass destruction. The united states and libya destroyed the arsenal of chemical arms over three months, starting in. The united states of america, and her allies, blundered into a war in a iraq, thinking that saddam hussein had weapons of mass destruction for example nuclear, biological, chemical weapons. International terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. Chemical weapons are part of the weapons of mass destruction concept because they can cause a large number of casualties. What you need to know about chemical weapons use in syria. The threat of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons issues in focus today tracy a phillips on. Public opinion over proliferation has varied widely over the past five decades, ranging from mass hysteria during the coldwar era, to indifference.
Nuclear weapons were used for the first and only known time in history in 1945 by the u. They claim that chemical terrorism is more likely to be small in. Chemical weapons are devices that spread a certain toxic chemical to incapacitate people. The united states faces a rising danger from terrorists and rogue states seeking to use weapons of mass destruction. Biological warfare is distinct from nuclear warfare, chemical warfare and radiological warfare, which together with biological warfare make up cbrn, the military initialism for nuclear, biological, and chemical warfare using weapons of mass destruction wmds. Other books on the market only include a sample selection of specific agents. For patriots like billy sinclair, the iraq war started o. Weapon of mass destruction an overview sciencedirect topics. After the mass destruction created by wwi and wwii, chemical weapons have been considered to be inhumane by most nations, and governments and organizations have undertaken to locate and destroy existing chemical weapons. Handbook of toxicology of chemical warfare agents sciencedirect. This pertinent and topical volume takes a hardheaded look at the threat that india could face from these weapons.
Books occasional papers case studies policy briefs strategic monographs. Covering issues relevant to teens, these fullcolor books present the information needed to analyze some of the most controversial and challenging topics in todays news and to help empower teenagers to develop. Along another dimension, there are nearuniversal bans on states use of biological weaponsbw, chemical weaponscw, antipersonnel land mines, exploding antipersonnel bullets, and even on possession of. From the council on foreign relations, january 27, 2003. An atomic bomb exploded over a densely populated city could kill hundreds of thousands of people instantaneously and, as the lethal effects of. S over japan in the infamous hiroshima and nagasaki bombings. The term nbcs was coined in reference to terrorist weapons of mass destruction, i. According to the organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons opcw, the term chemical weapon may also be applied to any toxic chemical or its precursor that can cause death, injury, temporary incapacitation or sensory irritation through its chemical. Weapons of mass destruction wmd is a term commonly used to refer to. The scope and usage of the term has evolved and been disputed, often signifying more politically. Chemical weapons of mass destruction and terrorism. Throughout history, chemical weapons have been used as strategic weaponry to devastate the enemy in times of war. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools.
Chemical weapon chemical weapons and terrorism britannica. May 03, 2007 the chemical weapons taboo can be thought of as an original scholarly work. Iraq actively researched and later employed weapons of mass destruction wmd from 1962 to 1991, when it destroyed its chemical weapons stockpile and halted its biological and nuclear weapon programs as required by the united nations security council. Weapons of mass destruction nuclear weapons in the 21st century security environment the apparent antiproliferation approach of the george w. Much of it is technically focused on describing the dangerous nature of chemical and biological warfare agents or the historical use of said. The history of biological warfare is a long one, which makes sense. The phrase weapons of mass destruction, for example, is an amor phous one, changing meaning according to the whims of the speaker. It is a widelyknown fact that the first experience of using nuclear bombs was during the world war ii americanjapan chapter, and the weapon was primarily targeted at civilians. The term weapons of mass destruction wmd refers to weapons that can. For instance, you still occasionally find someone digging up a ww1 mustard gas shell in france or belgium. Nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons fit this definition.