Weapons of Mass Destruction

The phrase “weapons of mass destruction” (WMD) is thrown around today’s media freely, but this term is often used incorrectly. Many people are under the false impression that WMDs are a recent phenomenon, but this type of warfare has been around sine the 1930s. The weapons listed underneath this category are vast, but they all tend to have the underlying theme of weapons that can wipe out humongous numbers of people, animals, and plants in a matter of moments.

In order to clarify the actual phrase “weapons of mass destruction,” it should be noted that the term itself was concocted during the year 1937 by Reverend Cosmo Lang. The original meaning of the term was used to address a Christian audience in order to sympathize with war torn Spain and China. At the time of Reverend Lang’s address, no nuclear weaponry was in existence. Today, the term is largely blown out of proportion and used in order to sway voters, or it is used as a means of threat from one nation to another. By military standards, the term is usually used in reference to nuclear weapons, which can be found within many countries today.

Weapons of mass destruction include nuclear, biological, chemical, and radiological weapons, which are devised solely to wipe out entire populations should the need arise. Most of the time, when the media speaks of a WMD, they are referring to some sort of nuclear weapon. Nuclear weapons have been used by the United States, and eight other countries (China, France, India, Pakistan, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and North Korea) claim to have tested nuclear weaponry.

Along with the United States, many countries are attempting to place a world wide ban on nuclear weaponry, but some countries still tend to make the claim that they have invented nuclear weapons of their own. Many countries throughout the world possess nuclear weapons, but most of them are underneath some sort of weaponry agreement that prohibits them from firing their weapons.