Weapons+of+Mass+Destruction

Human nature at its worst: WMDs Ask the world a big question: why do living, breathing, energy-consuming humans have to behave like… well, **//__humans?!__//** All living things exhibit strange behaviors, but the Homo Sapiens Sapiens is the most unpredictable of any living animal out there. This fact is brought out completely when people talk about //Weapons of Mass Destruction//. There is no other explanation for this other than the fact that humans will never stop finding new ways to kill their own species. The term “Weapon of Mass Destruction” is a broad topic that may be defined as a group of weapons having many times more destructive power than conventional weapons. It may also be a category of weapons including three sub-categories: biological weapons, chemical weapons and nuclear weapons. All of these categories include some of the most dangerous war devices humans have ever created. It’s human nature at its worst. Smallpox, a deadly viral disease, can spread for hundreds, and even thousands, of miles and shut down entire countries and governments (Kerrigan); Chemical VX, a deadly nerve toxin, is among the most dangerous chemicals the world has ever known (Judson); Nuclear weapons have been the most controversial issue ever brought up since the beginning of the cold war (Brezina). These are just three of so many things about Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) that make them among the biggest reasons why humans have taken killing way too far. Now, the world has got to do something about it. Any nation like the United States must show its leadership and step up to try and contain these terrible things. In fact, due to the extreme danger presented by Weapons of Mass Destruction and the growing terrorist groups and dictatorial countries trying to get their hands on WMDs, the US and other countries under this threat must do whatever they can to stop the spread of, and ultimately eliminate, WMDs.

Conventional weapons may be powerful, but nothing compares to WMDs. The largest US conventional weapon is the MOAB bomb (Massive Ordinance Air Blast). The MOAB has a blast radius of 150 yards (Orr), which could demolish a few blocks, but a tactical nuclear weapon could blow up twice that, and would send out a shockwave, which would destroy other areas, emit a huge amount of radiation, which can linger in a fifty-mile radius for years, and blast a huge amount of nuclear fallout into the air, which can spread across the country, bringing cancer to people of all ages throughout the US and neighboring countries. This shows just how many times more powerful WMDs are compared to conventional weapons. Even worse, while almost all conventional weapons cost thousands of dollars to produce, most WMDs, especially chemical and biological weapons, cost less than a few cents per gram to produce, provided that the producer has the right skills to do so. Nuclear weapons are relatively expensive to produce, but they are much in comparison with conventional weapons, nukes are a very cheap way to win a war fast. There are international laws against the construction, testing, and use of nuclear weapons, but some countries will not hesitate to build them without approval from the UN and International Law. Plus, chemical and biological weapons are cheap and practical for any terrorist group. Chemical weapons may attack certain areas of the body, such as the vital organs or muscles. The most dangerous of which are the nerve agents, which attack the nervous system. In this group of weapons is Chemical VX, the most deadly chemical weapon on the planet (Judson). It can kill in minutes and can be produced in a few simple steps. Chemicals like VX are the most likely to be produced as weapons by terrorist groups and be used against the US. Biological weapons are made from the culturing of different pathogens that cause life-threatening diseases, such as Smallpox, Anthrax, and Bubonic and Pneumonic plagues. These pathogens are so harmful, even the producer is at risk when he cultures the organism and makes it healthy enough to be used as a weapon. They can spread easily and kill off entire populations, putting everything in the country at risk, from the economy to the everyday life of the average American (Broyles). All chemical and biological weapons are extremely big problems to US national security. This problem was imminent during the Anthrax attacks of the earlier 21st century. During 2001 and 2002, someone obtained culture of Anthrax, another terrible disease used by bioterrorists, from an unknown source. This person or group of people cultured the Anthrax and produced a white powder of spores from it, which they put in letters and sent to very specific people, mainly business workers and democrats in the Senate and House of Representatives. Most of the people who received the letters fell ill in a matter of days. Some died, and the powder spread from these letters to other letters through the holes in the paper. Soon, more than one hundred cases of the disease came up. The country had no idea about where the source was, and we still don’t know. It cost up to $6 billion to clean up after the country finally realized what was going on (“Biological…”). Since only people exposed to the disease everyday are vaccinated, and the country did not act fast enough to get antibiotics to those who were infected before they died, those who were exposed were not expected to live longer than two weeks. Those who survived were scarred for life, as they got so close to death so early in their lives. An attack like this has only occurred once, but elsewhere, attacks are much more potent.

In Japan, some extremist groups have mass produced deadly nerve toxins, like sarin, which, when exposed to as a liquid or gas, can lead to death in a matter of hours. These groups, also also common in countries like Taiwan and China, are the greatest threat to Japan’s national security (Kerrigan). Recently, one group initiated attack on a subway train with sarin. They cut bags of sarin open on the train, and, with the help of the low humidity, the chemical evaporated and was breathed in by every passenger on board. When the train finally stopped and the doors opened, two people where dead and several more needed medical treatment fast. This kind of an attack would be very plausible for a terrorist group to pull off in the US because of the low price of the chemical and the ease of production. As for countries seeking the destruction of countries like the US, nuclear weapons are more likely to be used by them. Nuclear weapons can be much more destructive than biological or chemical weapons, but they are also much more expensive to produce because of the difficulty of producing weapons grade materials for the weapons, such as plutonium or uranium. The countries that we really have to be careful of are Iran and North Korea. Both of these countries have produced nuclear weapons illegally, according to International Law, and have made some able to be launched toward the US and other capitalist nations (Wright). If they did launch a nuke at us, we would have less than half an hour to prepare for the attack. They have not done anything so far, but sanctions, international pressure, and famine will not stop them from unleashing an attack on us. The world must do something about the threat of these countries and terrorist groups before it is too late.

Just one attack from a terrorist group or country is enough to scar the land permanently. Biological weapons release pathogens that can survive for years, and even decades, before they must take in energy again. They can infect from virtually any object they are exposed to. Chemical weapons can last for even longer, spreading to water sources, soil, the air, and any other object that comes in contact with the body. Radiation from nuclear weapons can spread for miles and stay around for hundreds of years. Each time someone comes in contact with that radiation, their chances of cancer grow greater and greater. For these reasons, it is extremely dangerous to clean up after an attack from a terrorist group or invading country without exposing those cleaning the areas to extremely harmful chemicals, contagious pathogens, or radiation and radioactive fallout. It is also extremely difficult to keep ordinary people away from these contaminated areas. Emergency crews must destroy the source, if there is one, keep people away from the area around the source, and decontaminate the whole area, which could take decades. The aftermath of an attack from a WMD also creates a long-lasting effect on the social lives of the people who live in the vicinity. Diseases like Smallpox and Anthrax will scar humans for life, if they survive from the disease. An attack from a chemical or nuclear weapon will make it psychologically hard for people to come out of their house, or even their basement (__Weapons…__). WMDs have endless methods on shutting down whole countries. It may happen quickly, or slowly, loudly, or silently, destructively, or simply, but it will eventually happen, unless the world does something about it.

Weapons of Mass Destruction are so dangerous, and have such a large threat, that no country is safe from them. Every country on Earth must play its part in stopping WMDs in their tracks. Their extreme, destructive power, cheapness, and long-lasting effect ensure that they will always be a threat to any country, until they are eliminated. This process of getting rid of WMDs forever will not be easy: the weapons can get into the wrong hands with little resistance. But something must be done. World peace will never be around if WMDs are still around. As long as there is human nature, those who want power will work for it.

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