Colin J. McAtee
Mrs. Harkins
Composition
15 May 2014
Thesis
The United States should limit the weapons of mass destruction in other countries because they are a threat not only to us and our allies, but to the world at large.
What is a Weapon of Mass Destruction?
According the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s webpage, Weapons of Mass Destruction are defined under the United States of America Law as:
Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) are defined in US law (18 USC §2332a) as:
“(A) any destructive device as defined in section 921 of this title (i.e. explosive device);
(B) any weapon that is designed or intended to cause death or serious bodily injury through the release, dissemination, or impact of toxic or poisonous chemicals, or their precursors;
(C) any weapon involving a biological agent, toxin, or vector (as those terms are defined in section 178 of this title)
(D) any weapon that is designed to release radiation or radioactivity at a level dangerous to human life.”
What is means is that any weapons that are explosive in nature (i.e. grenade, rocket propelled grenade, bomb, rocket, mine), any weapons other than a shotgun or shotgun shell approved by the attorney general to be suitable for sporting purposes that have a bore of greater than 0.5” are considered Weapons of Mass Destruction under United States Law. It also refers to weapons that use chemicals to cause serious bodily harm or even death (i.e. sarin, VX, mustard gas), any weapon that use a living virus or bacteria to cause bodily harm or death (i.e. Anthrax), and finally nuclear weapons that emit and/or release radiation or radioactive levels dangerous to human life (“What Are Weapons of Mass Destruction”), are all considered weapons of mass destruction. Although, w...
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Works Cited
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Poison gas was perhaps the most feared weapon out of all. Created to overcome the long stalemate style of trench warfare, its purpose was to draw out soldiers hiding in the trenches. One side would throw the poison gas into the enemy trenches and they would either wait for their enemy to come out into open fire or perish in the trenches. The first poison gas used in battle was chlorine at the start of the Second Battle of Ypres on April 22, 1915 by the Germans. Shortly after, followed the phosgene. The effects of these gases were ghastly. Chlorine was the most deadly as "within seconds of inhaling its vapor, it destroys the victim's respiratory organs, bringing on choking attacks" (Duffy). Phosgene had similar effects, except the fact that the effects started kicking in after 48 hours of inhalation. In September 1917, the Germans introduced the mustard gas or Yperite which was contained in artillery shells against the Russians at Riga. Those exposed t...
Mauroni, A. J. (2007). Chemical and biological warfare a reference handbook (2nd ed.). Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, Inc..
The utilization of chemical weapons during war has been in use since the beginning of time. The first time chemical warfare was use dates back to 600 B.C where Greek soldiers would poison the water reservoirs of their enemies. During 423 B.C. the Spartan soldiers used sulfur to attack Greece. Later on, in 673 C.E. the Greek navy was infamous for using burning chemical in the open sea, creating a floating fire wall allowing them to earn maneuver superiority. The use of chemical warfare continued throughout the middle ages where the Mongolian army used catapults to throw burning sulfur to their enemies. Chemical warfare became weapons of mass destruction during WWI, during the war, over one million casualties were reported and over 90 thousand were killed (Fitzgerald, 2008). Since WW I chemical weapons have been utilized in the battlefield, most noticeable during the Iraq and Iran war in 1980. World Powers have realized that chemical warfare, even though it provides an enormous advantage in the battlefield, it also comes with years of secondary effects and could become an immense financial burden.
Chemical weapons have been used throughout the world dating back to 430 BC, when they were used against the Spartans in the Peloponnesian War. Although they were not nearly as harmful as they are now, they still had devastating effects. Very little good has ever come from the use of chemical ...
The term weapon of mass destruction has been in existence since the 1930’s. Weapons of mass destruction can be better identified as nuclear weapons, biological weapons, chemical weapons, or radiological weapons. A true definition of weapons of mass destruction is “any destructive device; any weapon that is designed or intended to cause death or serious bodily injury through the release, dissemination, or impact of toxic or poisonous chemicals, or their precursors; any weapon involving a biological agent, toxin, or vector; any weapon that is designed to release radiation or radioactivity at a level dangerous to human life”. Weapons of mass destruction, also known as WMD’s, can be described as nuclear bombs, missiles, toxic chemicals, or hand grenades, artillery shells, and even ammunition often used in cannons. . These weapons of mass destruction are used in some countries on a daily basis. The sole purpose for using WMD’s should be for protection, however, if used by persons other than the military they can be used for nefarious reasons. This paper will identify reasons why the UK has joined forces with other organizations to stop the use of weapons of mass destruction, and their reasoning behind it. It will also illustrate why I believe that weapons of mass destruction are necessary for the protection of our people, our country. The United Kingdom has taken a stand and plans to stop the widespread use of weapons of mass destruction. The United Kingdom will need to use its weapons of mass destruction to save the lives of soldier’s during war. While the UK government has weapons of mass destruction, they do not believe in using them because they believe weapons of mass destruction raises serious humanitarian and security...
Since the beginning of civilization, poisons have been used for assassination purposes. The foundation of microbiology allowed those who were interested in biological weapons, to chose and design different biological agents. The potential dangers of these agents were soon recognized and resulted in two international declarations that prohibited the use of poisoned weapons. These treaties, however, contained no means of control and therefore, interested parties were developing and using biological weapons that we can see illustrated by the German army in the First World War. The German army was the first to use biological and chemical weapons, attempting to infect animals directly and to contaminate animal feed in their enemies’ co...
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, chemical warfare is “tactical warfare using incendiary mixtures, smokes, or irritant, burning, poisonous, or asphyxiating gasses.” (Chemical warfare, 2011) It is a temptingly appealing way to dispose of one’s enemies without drawing a sword or lifting a gun. Chemical weapon agents, or CWAs as they are more commonly referred, are classified in five main groups: riot control agents, nerve agents, blister agents, blood agents, and choking agents. Each is devastating on those caught in their paths and, for decades, scientists have worked on creating easier to wield, more lethal types. Today, there are eight countries known to possess chemical weapons (OPCW) but, according to new archaeological discoveries, this may not only be a cause for concern prevalent in the modern world.
Organphosphorus compounds such as Soman, Sarin, VX, and Tabun are referred to as nerve agents and are among the most lethal chemical weapons that were developed. These chemicals were used to cause catastrophic results in wars and also in terrorist attacks (Albuquerque, E, Pereira, E, Aracava, Y, Fawcett, W, Oliveria, M, Randall, W, Hamilton, T, Kan, R, Romano, J, Adler, M, 2006) . A major attack that involved the use of Sarin was in Matsumoto in 1994.The following timeline describes the events leading up to the tragic incident.
At the beginning of time, mundane spears and bows were used to carry out attacks and wars. As time progressed, these weapons were being complemented or phased out by high tech equivalents. Although chemical and biological weapons may seem rather new, the reality is that they have been used in ancient times, with chemical weapons dating back to 600 B.C. (Science History Institute) and biological ones dating back to 400 B.C. (emedicinehealth.com). It is extremely important for all countries to be aware of chemical and biological weapons because they sometimes can only be caught when it is too late, which makes it extremely difficult to save lives and protect societies. Although the U.N. has done a lot to make sure that these weapons are properly
Since the third century A.D weapons that harness the power of chemical reactions have been used, intended for military use; however, in recent history terrorists have been able to acquire these gaseous weapons of mass destruction. After their release there is no possibility of containing chemical weapons as they are spread by the wind throughout a massive area. There are no moral implications for these weapons as they possess no positive use for society. Chemical weapons have plagued humanity since their creation with their unrestricted slaughter of soldiers and civilians, their use in mass genocides, and the damage caused to the environment.
Riedel, Stefan. “Biological Warfare and Bioterrorism: A Historical Review.” NCBI. Baylor University Medical Center, 17 Oct. 2004. Web. 19 May 2014.