Weapons of Mass Destruction

The depot Weapons of Mass Destruction has two indications. In its broader, literal sense, it is employ to give ear to weapons whose destructive power far surpasses that of guns or conventional explosives. However, the term is more often employ in a narrower sense, to refer specifically to atomic, biological, and chemical weapons. Since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, which raised a contendeness of Americas vulnerability, the unify States has greatly intensified its efforts to stop the spread of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons.When the president and separate officials refer to weapons of heap desolation, they usually mean NBC weaponry. An organism or toxin order in nature is used in them that is meant to kill or alter an enemy. Though there are antithetic types and they are made up of different ingredients, they are all meant to kill and do significant ending. The get together States Military refers to them as weapons that are capable of high order d estruction and being used to destroy large numbers of people. Many countries posses weapons of softwood destruction for one main cause.Because they generate a gloss of hero-worship, they are held in reserve by countries as a frighten off tactic. They are set aside to be used as a threat, if a nonher country were to use them, they would in turn be bombed with weapons of mass destruction. During the Cold contendfare, the term weapons of mass destruction was primarily a eccentric to nuclear weapons. At the time, in the West the euphemism strategic weapons was used to refer to the American nuclear arsenal, which was presented as a necessary deterrent against nuclear or conventional attack from the Soviet Union.The term weapons of mass destruction continued to see periodic use throughout this time, usually in the context of nuclear arms control Ronald Reagan used it during the 1986 Reykjavik Summit, when referring to the 1967 outer(a) Space Treaty. Reagans successor, George H. W. Bush, used the term in an 1989 speech to the United Nations, victimization it primarily in reference to chemical arms. The end of the Cold War reduced U. S. reliance on nuclear weapons as a deterrent, causing it to shift its focus to disarmament. This period coincided with an increasing threat to U. S. nterests from Islamic nations and unaffiliated Islamic groups. With the 1990 invasion of Kuwait and 1991 Gulf War, Iraqs nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons programs became a circumstance concern of the first Bush Administration. Following the war, Bill Clinton and other western politicians and media continued to use the term, usually in reference to ongoing tastes to analyze Iraqs weapons programs. After the September 11, 2001 attacks and the 2001 anthrax attacks, an increased fear of non-conventional weapons and asymmetrical warfare took hold of the United States and other Western powers.This fear reached a crescendo with the 2002 Iraq disarmament crisis and the alleged e xistence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq that became the capital justification for the 2003 invasion of Iraq. However, no weapon of mass destruction were rear in Iraq. out-of-pocket to the indiscriminate impact of weapon of mass destructions, the fear of a WMD attack has do political policies and campaigns, fostered social movements, and has been the central theme of many films. Support for different levels of WMD development and control varies nationally and internationally.Yet understanding of the nature of the threats is not high, in part because of imprecise usage of the term by politicians and the media. diswhitethorn of WMD, or of threats diminished by the possession of WMD, has colossal been used to change state universal support for various WMD policies. They include mobilization of pro- and anti-WMD campaigners a akin, and generation of popular political support. The term WMD may be used as a powerful buzzword, or to generate a culture of fear. It is also use d ambiguously, particularly by not distinguishing among the different types of WMD.A boob tube commercial called Daisy, promoting Democrat Lyndon Johnsons 1964 presidential candidacy, invoked the fear of a nuclear war and was an element in Johnsons subsequent election. More recently, the threat of potential WMD in Iraq was used by President George W. Bush to generate public support for the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Broad reference to Iraqi WMD in general was seen as an element of President Bushs arguments. As Paul Wolfowitz explained For bureaucratic reasons, we settled on one issue, weapons of mass destruction, because it was the one reason everyone could suit on. To date, however, Coalition forces have found mainly degraded artillery shells.There was close no dissent on the issue. Molly Ivins wrote the ONLY source to cogitation skeptically on the administrations claims about Iraqs weapons of mass destruction before the war? Knight-Ridder and its terrific reporters Warren Strobel and Jonathan Landay. . On June 21, 2006, United States Senator Rick Santorum claimed that We have found weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, chemical weapons. According to the Washington Post, he was referring to 500 such shells that had been buried near the Iranian border, and then long forgotten, by Iraqi troops during their eight-year war with Iran, which ended in 1988. That night, intelligence activity officials reaffirmed that the shells were old and were not the suspected weapons of mass destruction sought in Iraq after the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The shells had been uncovered and reported on in 2004. In 2004 Polish troops found nineteen 1980s-era rocket warheads, thwarting an attempt by militants to buy them at $5000 each.Some of the rockets contained extremely deteriorated nerve agent. Limits on WMD by the US scare allied countries. The US nuclear umbrella is the primary contributor to the security of Europe and for Asia. Lack of confidence in the US umbrella causes Europe an nations to either build up their circulating(prenominal) arsenals, or embark on entirely new nuclear weapons programs. thermonuclear pro heartration in Europe causes massive instability there because of the threat it poses to Russia. Asian proliferation threatens conflicts with China.The odds that an asteroid that could potentially wipe out all life on earth are high. A massive asteroid may have been responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs. The only defense earth has against these asteroids is nuclear weapons. Were we to disarm completely, we would be unable to shoot down an incoming asteroid, excoriate all life to extinction. The military-industrial complex is a powerful constituency in the US. Limits on one type of WMD scare the military-industrial complex. They will feel panicked that the US will be unable to defend itself without its current lay out of weaponry.To compensate, they will develop new forms of WMDs that are even more destructive, like nanotechnology. Any arms control initiative requires a substantial outlay of money to implement. Decommissioning weapons systems takes funds. Verifiable agreements demand substantial investment in inspections and monitoring. The US cannot afford to spend more money, given the precarious situation its cipher is in. Busting the budget could have a terrible effect on the economy, possibly triggering an economic collapse