...Weapons of Mass Destruction Weapons of Mass Destruction (1) Introduction (2) The Term * 1 Early uses of term * 1.1 Evolution of its use * 2 Definitions of the term * 2.1 United States * 2.1.1 Strategic * 2.1.2 Military * 2.1.3 Criminal (civilian) * 3 Common hazard symbols * 3.1 Radioactive weaponry/hazard symbol * 3.2 Biological weaponry/hazard symbol (3) Treaties * 1 General * 2 Delivery systems * 3 Biological weapons * 4 Chemical weapons * 5 Nuclear weapons * 5.1 Non-proliferation * 5.1.1 By region * 5.2 Weapons limitation * 5.3 Cooperation (4) Nuclear (or) Atomic (4.1) Nuclear warfare * 1 Types of nuclear warfare * 2 History a. 2.1 1940s i. 2.1.1 Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki ii. 2.1.2 Immediately after the Japan bombings b. 2.2 1950s c. 2.3 1960s d. 2.4 1970s e. 2.5 1980s f. 2.6 Post–Cold War g. 2.7 Sub-strategic use * 3 Nuclear terrorism * 4 Survival (4.2) Nuclear Weapons * 1 Types * 1.1 Fission weapons * 1.2 Fusion weapons * 1.3 Other types * 2 Weapons delivery * 3 Nuclear strategy * 4 Governance, control, and law * 4.1 Disarmament * 4.2 United Nations * 5 Controversy * 5.1 Ethics * 5.2 Notable nuclear weapons accidents * 5.3 Nuclear testing and fallout * 5.4 Public opposition * 6 Costs and technology...
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...INTRODUCTION The following research paper has been compiled to provide an insight into Chemical Weapons (CW). It deals with the description and the usage of various chemical reagents used by various countries and their negative effects. The following also shows the policies of countries towards chemical weapons, their stockpiles and their lethality and disposal. The following report also shows the history of chemical warfare, their demilitarisation, proliferation and the various councils set up to reduce their use. It also includes a news release by the sunshine project on the use of chemical weapons by the US military. All in all it tells you everything about chemical weapons and explosives. Chemical Warfare Chemical warfare (CW) involves using the toxic properties of chemical substances as weapons. This type of warfare is distinct from Nuclear warfare and Biological warfare, which together make up NBC, the military acronym for Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical (warfare or weapons). None of these fall under the term conventional weapons which are primarily effective due to their destructive potential. Chemical warfare does not depend upon explosive force to achieve an objective. Rather it depends upon the unique properties of the chemical agent weaponized. A lethal agent is designed to injure or incapacitate the enemy, or deny unhindered use of a particular area of terrain. Defoliants are used to quickly kill vegetation and deny its use for cover and concealment. It...
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...Biological Weapons: Threat of the 21st Century Michele Tallman Ashford University Principle & Theory of Security Issues CRJ433 Alicia Dembowski January 12, 2014 Biological Weapons: Threat of the 21st Century Biological Warfare is morally and inhumanely wrong, it is the wrongful killing of men, women, and children and it should be stopped no matter what the circumstances are. For the past 50 years or so the world has lived under the shadow of atomic weapons, threatening a “nuclear nightmare” that would bomb us back to the Stone Age. Now in the 21st Century, there is a new nightmare, called Biological Weapons. These types of weapons deliver toxins and microorganisms, such as viruses and bacteria, so as to deliberately infect disease among people, animals, as well as the destruction of crops leading to food shortages. The way that a biological weapon is used depends on several factors, these include the agent, its preparation; its durability in the environment, and route of infection. Some agents can be disbursed as an aerosol, which can be inhaled or can infect a susceptible spot on the skin, like a cut or wound. With the recent revolution in molecular biology, this may have incidentally unleashed a new threat to a peaceful night’s sleep. Even though there has been talk concerning the disarming of certain countries from nuclear weapons, terrorist factions and "nations of concern" have sought ways to continue their wars, by using biological weapons. Asymmetric...
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...Unit 731, chemical weapon subject When Japanese Imperial Army took metal, they also took young female for their own purposes. First of all, high ranking officers of the Japanese Imperial army did biological experiments for their baleful chemical weapons like poison gas and burned the people in Manchuria. For example, Dissection of the person with reveal disease is to check how disease influence the person by seeing the stomachs, heart, and liver. Japanese soldiers cut the arms and legs for researching how haemorrhaging effects the person. Some body parts were iced for researching decomposition of the body part when person is alive. Some of the people’s brains and lungs, livers were removed. They removed whole skin from a...
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...The Head of State or Government of he movement of the Non-Aligned countries met in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, from 24-25 February 2003 to address the crucial global issues affecting their people with the view of agreeing to a set of actions in the promotion of peace, security, justice, equality, democracy and development conducive for a multilateral system of relations based on principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of state. The right of people to self determination and non-intervention in maters which are essentially within the jurisdiction of states in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and International Law. According to the United Nations Department of Disarmament Affairs (UNDA), the Heads of State or Government emphasized that the international situation continues to be marked by rapid and dramatic evolution, presenting numerous opportunities and challenges to the international community and the Non-Aligned Movement. However, recent events have again demonstrated that a peaceful, just and secure world continues to elude human kind. Accordingly simmering disputes, violent conflicts aggression and foreign occupation, interference in the domestic affairs of states , policies of hegemony and domination, unilateral and conceive measures, ethnic strife religious intolerances, xenophobia, new forms of racism narrowly conceived nationalism pose major and dangerous obstacles to harmonious coexistence among states and people and have...
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...types of weapons of mass destruction. Ans) A weapon of mass destruction is one which can cause harm on multiple species by killing them or altering their DNAs for years to come. The damage inflicted can be upon the environment, biosphere, infrastructure and depends upon the impact of the attack. Before nuclear weapons wee developed and deployed, biological and chemical weapons were considered to be weapons of mass destruction. Historical records point towards the fact that had been conducting research on biological weapons prior to World War I and chemical weapons were widely used during World War I. However, after the US dropped nuclear bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II, they came to be known as weapons of mass destruction. As of now, there are eight states which have declared and successfully tested weapons of mass destruction as in nuclear weapons. These include, India, Pakistan, the United States of America, China, France, North Korea, Russia and the United Kingdom. Israel is he only country which maintains silence on whether it does or does not posses weapons or mass destruction. Nevertheless, policy experts believe that Israel has some hundreds of weapons of mass destruction. The US believes that Iran does posses weapons of mass destruction but has of been able to prove thus far. Although it is good to posses weapons of mass destruction, it can prove to be a dangerous proposition. America attached Iraq claiming that the country possessed weapons of mass...
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...The Evolution of Explosives SC 413, Hazards and Chemistry of Explosives to First Responders The destructive power of explosives has been felt and documented in history as very powerful, but the impact, development and change that it took during the 20th Century will echo in eternity. Many important events like the civil war, the movement of peoples from Europe, and the development of nuclear power led to the intense development of explosives by countries. Most were for the purpose of defense, others for industry, mining and development of technology. These explosive devices were mostly created by acts of war in pursuit of better defense weapons. The Civil war in the United States led to the development of many explosive devices. George and Gabriel Rains two Confederate soldiers had the ability to create explosive devices in the civil war. One such device was a black iron cast which resembled a lump of coal. Since it resembled a lump of coal Confederate soldiers would drop this object in a ships coal load. Once it was shoveled into the boiler the explosive device would react with the heat from the boiler causing an explosion. George and Gabriel Rains became known as the “Bomb Brothers” for their expertise in developing explosive devices and gun powder. Gabriel Rains developed what was to be the South’s first torpedo which could be used in land or water. The torpedo was made from sheet...
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...international terrorist network al - Qaeda - the International Islamic Front for Jihad against Jews and Christians – is a consequence of a single trend prevailing in the contemporary Muslim world - namely, rise of radical and militant Islamism. International terrorist organizations seek to acquire weapons of mass destruction and sabotage plans in the areas of oil and gas. In addition, according to some researchers, operating in Russia's North Caucasus militants are closely linked to the international terrorist network “Al Qaeda”. “Al-Qaeda” has transformed into a movement that brings together independent terrorist cells in the world on an ideological basis. It has established strong contacts with regional extremist organizations in the Islamic Maghreb, in south-east Asia - with a "JI", in Russia - the “Caucasus Emirate” (Bergen, 2006). In addition, the terrorist organization through contacts with pirate syndicates are planning to sabotage the sea lanes, coastal infrastructure in areas of hydrocarbon production. The priority areas they consider Gibraltar, Hormuz, Bab-el-Mandeb Straits and the Suez Canal. Terrorists eager to facilities and technology of chemical and biological and bacteriological weapons, to the radioactive, toxic...
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...In the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, scientific and medical experimentation was being conducted in countries like Japan, Germany, the United States and many others. Many experiments that took place during this time period were done on humans, most of which were conducted forcibly and without the consent of its participants. There were two major vanguards that carried out these experiments, one of which was under the rationalization of eugenics. The other was research carried out for war purposes. For example, the development of chemical and biological warfare was being attempted during this time period. The Japanese during WWII had a disturbingly particular interest in the development of biological weapons. According to the documentary “Unit 731: Nightmare in Manchuria” the Japanese conducted research on unknowing human participants in order to develop biological weapons. In 1940 and 1941, Unit 731 bred bubonic plague infested fleas that were then spread by low flying planes over Chinese...
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...within a point of view based on assumptions leading to implications and consequences. We use concepts, ideas and theories to interpret data, facts, and experiences in order to answer questions, solve problems, and resolve issues (Criticalthinking.org)”. The eight elements of thought are think about the purpose, state the question, gather information, watch your inferences, check your assumptions, clarify your concepts, understand your point of view, and think through the implications. These eight elements of thought come from Dr. Linda Elder and Dr. Richard Paul. We will use Dr. Elder’s and Dr. Paul’s eight elements of thought to analyze and discuss about The Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction. This is also known as the overview of the WMD Report. The main purpose of this report is to determine and expose the lack of critical thinking that was used by each of the intelligence agencies that assumed that Iraq’s leader, Saddam Hussein, had reconstituted his nuclear weapons program, had biological weapons, had mobile biological weapon production facilities, and had stockpiled and was producing chemical weapons. The coverage of the most public and most damaging intelligence failure in recent American history will be used by the authors to offer their conclusions on what needs to be done to avoid such disastrous misinterpretations and misconceptions. There are several key questions addressed by the authors in this report...
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...CHEMICAL BIOLOGICAL RADIOLOGICAL NUCLEAR HIGH-YIELD EXPLOSIVES Name Institution Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear High-Yield Explosives The most likely device that a terrorist can employ is the conventional explosive device. These types of explosives have been around for centuries since the modification of the Chinese explosive gunpowder for use in weaponry. The manufactured as well as improvised explosive devices are the easiest weapons to get and use. This may be because, instructions regarding their assembly and deployment is widely available both in print and the internet. The information is also found through the transfer of knowledge in criminal networks (Bullock et al., 2012). When these extensively available weapons are used skillfully, they can inflict large amounts of destruction to both humans and properties. An example of such an attack is the September 2011 incident in the U.S. The use of conventional explosives can be the easiest to use in the United States since they rely on low technology, and are easy to transport. Most importantly, it is not easy to detect these devices as most of the materials are untraceable due to their accessibility (Bullock et al., 2012). The other type of explosive is the use of biological agents. These are live organisms or toxic byproducts from living organisms used in order to cause injury, illness or death of plants, humans or livestock. Even though there was awareness regarding the possibility of using...
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...administration deems Saddam Hussein reckless, ruthless, and not fully rational. Such a man, when mixed with nuclear weapons, is too unpredictable to be prevented from threatening the United States, the hawks say. But scrutiny of his past dealings with the world shows that Saddam, though cruel and calculating, is eminently deferrable. Should the United States invade Iraq and depose Saddam Hussein? If the United States is already at war with Iraq when this article is published, the immediate cause is likely to be Saddam's failure to comply with the new U.N. inspections regime to the Bush administration's satisfaction. But this failure is not the real reason Saddam and the united States have been on a collision course over the past year. The deeper root of the conflict is the U.S. position that Saddam must be toppled because he cannot be deterred from using weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Advocates of preventive war use numerous arguments to make their case, but their trump card is the charge that Saddam's past behavior proves he is too reckless, relentless, and aggressive to be allowed to possess WMD, especially nuclear weapons. They sometimes admit that war against Iraq might be costly, might lead to a lengthy U.S. occupation, and might complicate U.S. relations with other countries. But these concerns are eclipsed by the belief that the combination of Saddam plus nuclear weapons is too dangerous to accept. For that reason alone, he has to go. Even many opponents of preventive war...
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...considered a threat and it was believed that he had weapons of mass destruction, would take on the U.S in an instant and was accused of having ties to the events of September 11, 2006 and the Al-Quaeda terrorist network. None of this could be proved and it appears as if it were all just convenient statements made by the administration to find a way to make it a justifiable cause. The Iraqi War: Was it the Right Thing to Do? The invasion was unconstitutional, against international law, violated the Christian doctrine of "just war" and has damaged U.S. relations with its allies. It has wreaked havoc in the Muslim world, where there's plenty of havoc already, and most importantly, it has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent people. Frankly, it’s surprising it hasn’t resulted in dropping a nuclear bomb on Baghdad. Claims made prewar regarding Iraq's weapons of mass destruction have all proved to be wrong; the number of terrorists in Iraq has increased rather than decreased and the abuse inflicted on Iraqi detainees contradicts the most basic values the Administration claimed it would bring to Iraq (Savoy, 2004). President Bush’s actions portray him as an individual that has the right to attack Iraq anytime he wants to due to his position. It's false, and very dangerous for a democracy. Our founding fathers gave the right to Congress and only to Congress to make the decision of whether to take the United States to war or not. It's clearly there in Article...
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...On August 6, 1945, the United States used a massive, atomic weapon against Hiroshima, Japan. This atomic bomb, the equivalent of 20,000 tons of TNT, flattened the city, killing tens of thousands of civilians. While Japan was still trying to comprehend this devastation three days later, the United States struck again, this time, on Nagasaki.[1] The atomic bombings of the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan were conducted by the United States during the final stages of World War II in 1945. These two events represent the only use of nuclear weapons in war to date. [2] Following a firebombing campaign that destroyed many Japanese cities, the Allies prepared for a costly invasion of Japan. The war in Europe ended when Nazi Germany signed its instrument of surrender on 8 May, but the Pacific War continued. Together with the United Kingdom and the Republic of China, the United States called for a surrender of Japan in the Potsdam Declaration on 26 July 1945, threatening Japan with "prompt and utter destruction". The Japanese government ignored this ultimatum, and the United States deployed two nuclear weapons developed by the Manhattan Project. American airmen dropped Little Boy on the city of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945, followed by Fat Man over Nagasaki on 9 August.[3] Within the first two to four months of the bombings, the acute effects killed 90,000–166,000 people in Hiroshima and 60,000–80,000 in Nagasaki, with roughly half of the deaths in each city occurring on the first...
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...The United Nations has created a body to help the global security and the stable between nations, but they have not developed concrete guidelines for jus post bellum (justice after war). Many questions have not been answered. For example, how much disarmament is just? Who should decide how much disarmament is appropriate? Should all countries follow the same standards and rules of disarmament? These are all the questions we should put into consideration in order to reinforce the justice after war. In the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC), Algeria was determined in (erase) achieving effective progress toward the complete disarmament, prohibition and elimination of all biological and toxic weapons. Algeria also signed Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and pledged to be a non nuclear state in 1995. After that Algeria was among the first countries to sign the Treaty of Pelindaba which established the African continent a nuclear free zone. We partly agree with disarmament of the losing country. But the disarmament should be discuss between the victors, losers, and a fair judge independent panel through the United Nations . There are several possible solutions that The United Nations could implement in order to improve the jus post bellum questions. First, we think a completely independent body, run by The United Nations, should decide how much disarmament is just for each country. We think the discussion of disarmament should take place with...
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