The United States and its allies invaded Iraq in 2003 with the declared intention of removing Saddam Hussein’s regime. Although it was determined after the war that Iraq did not possess weapons of mass destruction (WMD), removing a regime believed to be in possession of WMD raises the possibility that the post-9/11 US security policy is more willing than previously believed to tolerate the risk...

PURPOSE Since the invasion into Iraq in 2003, weapons of mass destruction (WMD), have come to general notice; they include today chemical, biological, and atomic/nuclear weapons, (CW, BW, and AW). Radiological findings shall be described. MATERIAL AND METHODS X-ray findings of victims of WMD are described. From CW, own observations are reported. Examples of (possible) X-ray findings of victim...

Modern brutality, which found its culmination in using weapons of mass destruction (WMD) against humanity, is the dark side of the principal teachings of the Enlightenment. The great thinkers of the Enlightenment, blaming religion as the main source of violence, removed God from the center of Western political and social thought to replace it with human. Although they were not conscious of the ...

his background paper explores the technical pathways by which states might acquire nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and the systems to deliver them. It also assesses the level of effort, commitment, and resources required to mount such developments. The paper is a companion to the OTA report Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction: Assessing the Risks, which describes what nuclear...

Since the dawn of the missile age, national security decisionmakers have sought to achieve a delicate balance between having a credible nuclear deterrent and ensuring the safety of nuclear weapons from unauthorized or accidental use. During the Cold War, when the United States and Russia perceived each other as a serious threat, the balance was weighted heavily toward the credibility of the det...

The variety of weapons of mass destruction are intended to create the maximum possible fear, death, destruction, and general terror in the target region or nation, particularly with new and creative ways of using them. An understanding of how these weapons work, the ways they may be used, and the scope of their destruction can contribute to effectively combating their effects. This article exam...

T events of September 11, 2001, caused major changes in the lives of Americans, but the full meaning of that day— even as we approach its one-year anniversary—has perhaps not yet been realized. Clearly, the threat of terrorism in all its forms is real. In the medical community, the horrific attacks on New York City and Washington, DC; the thwarted attack on United Airlines Flight 93, which cras...

A big power is facing a small power that may have developed weapons of mass destruction. The small power can create strategic ambiguity by refusing arms inspections. We study the impact of strategic ambiguity on arms proliferation and welfare. Strategic ambiguity is a substitute for actually acquiring weapons: ambiguity reduces the incentive for the small power to invest in weapons, which reduc...