3. A weapon of mass destruction is a weapon that can kill and bring
significant harm to a large number of humans and or cause great
damage to man-made structures natural structures or the biosphere
in general. The scope and application of the term has evolved and
been disputed, often signifying more politically than technically.
Coined in reference to aerial bombing with chemical explosives, it has
come to distinguish large-scale weaponry of other technologies, such
as chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear. This differentiates the
term from more technical ones such as chemical, biological,
radiological, and nuclear weapons
4. Weapons that are capable of a
high order of destruction and/or of
being used in such a manner as to
destroy large numbers of people.
Weapons of mass destruction can
be high explosives or nuclear,
biological, chemical, and
radiological weapons, but exclude
the means of transporting or
propelling the weapon where such
means is a separable and divisible
part of the weapon. Also called
WMD. See also destruction; special
operations.
5. The threat that the nuclear weapons of mass
destruction pose to the entire human
civilizations and the whole of humanity is
serious. There are different sorts of people who
worry about the lack of patriotic, linguistic,
religious, ethnic importance/values in the
society. But not much people worry about the
real threat to the entire mankind including that
of the religious, ethnic, cultural values through
the nuclear weapons.
6. Chemical weapons did not become true weapons of mass destruction (WMD) until they
were introduced in their modern form in World War I (1914–18). 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. German use of gas and mustard was soon countered by similar
tactics from the Allies. By war’s end, both sides had used massive quantities of chemical
weapons, causing an estimated 1,300,000 casualties, including 91,000 fatalities. The
Russian army suffered about 500,000 of these casualties, and the British had 180,000
wounded or killed by chemical arms. One-third of all U.S. casualties in World War I
were from mustard and other chemical gases, roughly the ratio for all participants
combined. By the war’s end, all the great powers involved had developed not only
offensive chemical arms but also crude gas masks and protective overgarments to defend
themselves against chemical weapon attacks. Altogether, the warring states employed
more than two dozen different chemical agents during World War I, including mustard
gas, which caused perhaps as many as 90 percent of all chemical casualties from that
conflict.
7. Biological warfare has been part of human conflict throughout the
ages. Biological agents were used in many of the conflicts of the
20th century and their use is now reported daily in the headlines.
Crude methods such as using dead or diseased animals to foul
wells or gifts of contaminated blankets and clothes have been
replaced by delivery systems of missiles, airplanes, and the postal
service. Biological agents are gaining status as a terrorist's weapon
of choice
The psychological and demoralizing impact of an
infectious or toxic agent is likely to be more
devastating than its physiological effect. Many
biological agents, including bacteria, viruses, and
toxins, can be used as weapons.
8. Weapons that are capable of a high order of destruction and/or of being used in
such a manner as to destroy large numbers of people. Weapons of mass
destruction can be high explosives or nuclear, biological, chemical, and
radiological weapons, but exclude the means of transporting or propelling the
weapon where such means is a separable and divisible part of the weapon. Also
called WMD. See also destruction; special operations.