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War and Peace (Part Four)
Weapons of mass destruction
While some countries are amassing bombs and others are working feverishly to acquire their first, the world may have more to fear from other, less familiar means of attack.
At one end of the scale are the so-called dirty bombs — conventional explosives wrapped in radioactive material. Dirty bombs are much easier to make but are unlikely to cause many fatalities. At the other end, traditional nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons may cause the most lethal attacks.
Today there is no longer a single global conflict. There are mainly local causes of conflict, which could be related to social, religious, ethnic and racial matters, but because of new developments in science and technology, there are new ways and new weapons to resolve these conflicts.
A great irony in the remarkable biological research being done today is that much of the work intended to improve and prolong human life, with little effort, can be turned into the most horrendous means of ending it.
The effects of WMD
Although chemical, biological and nuclear weapons are grouped together as WMD, each differs in its effects and the power to destroy.
Nuclear weapons are by far the most powerful. They can kill large numbers of people, destroy buildings and infrastructure and contaminate wide areas with radioactive fallout. Atomic and Hydrogen bombs are examples of nuclear weapons.
Biological weapons can be made cheaply and transported easily — even in a briefcase. They have the potential to kill as many people as nuclear weapons but the action is slow. Anthrax, Plague and the Smallpox virus are examples of biological agents.
Chemical weapons are hard to control. They can injure or kill by affecting the skin, the eyes, the lungs, the blood, the nerves or other organs. Tabun, Sarin, Mustard gas and Phosgene are chemical agents used in warfare.
Biological and chemical weapons do not destroy infrastructure. Gas masks, protective clothing, shelters and decontamination procedures can also be used as precautions against them.
Source: www.nti.org
Gruesome facts
• Biological weapon attacks have a very long history. Early Persians, Greeks and Romans poisoned their enemies' wells by throwing dead bodies into them
• In 1763, in an attempt to kill North American Indians, a British Captain presented two Indian chiefs gifts of two blankets and a handkerchief out of the smallpox hospital. The disease took hold amongst the local Indian tribes.
• What is known as modern chemical warfare began during World War I. The first chemical agent to be used was chlorine gas. This was released from 6,000 pressurized cylinders by the Germans against the Allies. The chlorine caused yellowish fluid to form in the lungs of its victim, also causing eye, nose, and throat burning before causing death by choking. By the war's end, 1.3 million injuries and 100,000 deaths occurred.
• The US dropped the first atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II, killing more than a 120,000 people. The effects of radiation continue to cause deformities and illnesses.
What weapons were used in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq?
Write the names of at least five weapons.
To learn more about WMD visit www.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0211
A free annual membership for the HREP
Right-On Network will be given through a ballot to two children who send the correct entries. Send your answers to: Human Rights Education Programme (HREP), 9-C/1, 8th East Street, Phase 1, DHA, Karachi.
Did you know?
— The United States and Russia still control most of the world's weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Each has enough weaponry to kill every form of life on Earth many times over
— Acquisition of nuclear capabilities is extremely expensive and materials and expertise are hard to acquire
— Countries with nuclear capabilities are:
1. Pakistan
2. India
3. Israel
4. Iran
5. Iraq
6. Russia
7. China
8. North Korea
9. Great Britain
10. United States of America
Source: National Geographic Magazine, November 2002
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