Introduction

Weapons of Mass Destruction can be classified in three categories- biological, chemical and nuclear. Weapons of mass destruction have been identified as a different category from other categories based on the enormity of destruction they result in, long distance coverage and lethality. Weapons of mass destruction have become the defense and attack mechanism in the present world that we are living. The fact that there has been a made race of possessing weapons of mass destruction is greatly due to the modest cost that involved in making them.

Nuclear Weapons

• Again this can be divided into fission and fusion. Fission is expensive in cost and can be prepared with a lower cost while fusion is very expensive as it is technologically advanced.
• Only the nations having richness of high functioning economy can be in possession of this weapon.
• Uranium and Plutonium are the two major elements that are used in creation of fissionable material which is the very base of function of nuclear weapon.
• Out of all the three categories, nuclear weapons are considered to be the most destructive ones.  It is to be noted that weapons of mass destruction are not only used to terrorize people but they are also used for subjugating populations and for wreaking economic damage in a thorough manner (Motola et al 2015).

Biological and Chemical Weapons

• Chemical weapons are second in grade in terms of lethality. Chemical weapons tend to disable the physical ability of the people or may as well kill them.
• Biological weapons too are similar to chemical a weapons but they are different from the chemical ones in some respect. Biologically derived toxins are used here else deadly microorganism (Brewer 2018).
• It should be well-known that apart from other kinds of weapons of mass destruction, economic sanctions of numerous kinds should also be measured as a real category of weapons of mass destruction. Such estimation should be given thorough importance in the 21^st century when economic embargoes are utilized as weapons of ending a country economically and administratively.
• Interfering with the nervous system is another deadly after effect of chemical weapon.
• 1992 Chemical Weapons Convention banned the production and possession of chemical weapons and the convention was accepted by most of the nations. Nations that did not take part in in it were North Korea, Egypt and Angola.
• In this way Biological Weapons Convention of 1972 bans development and production of biological weapons. But this Convention does shed light on its inspection (Singh 2016).
• Ballistic Missiles and Other Delivery Systems is an important point to be noted in discussion about Weapons of Destruction. More than the weapons, the delivery system is important as the weapon holds no importance if it cannot physically reach the enemy or the target. Here there are two categories of weapons- strategic nuclear weapons and tactical nuclear weapons. Tactical are for the battlefields use while the strategic ones are used in long distance attacking. It has long range and can be shot from one state in a nation to the other state in another nation.
• An important term to be brought to discussion here is proliferation. This is referred to the act of spreading the weapons of mass destruction. This of course was started in the First World War and went on to become the mad race of armament that also led to starting of the Second World War.
• Non-Proliferation Treaty was signed in the year 1968 and it regulates the nuclear power industry prevents secret diversions of materials that help in nukes manufacture.
• Science and development of technology has been the reason for the massive research that is being carried out in this field. With more research and funding being carried it led to the Europeans nations engaging in the race and later on it started to spread in other countries as well and today we have a list of countries in possession of weapons of mass destruction (Lothringer et al 2016).
• It is vital that the strategies are laid down to control the probability of attacks and this can be done by mutual agreements. Strategic Arms Nuclear Treaties in the year 1970 has been signed between India and Pakistan. This treaty has established an upper limit on both the nations in developing the strategic weapons.
• Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty was also signed between many leading nations that banned test explosions. This was a great step ahead but all the 44 nations did not agree to sign it. Countries who have defied the treat are USA, North Korea, India and Pakistan.

The table below reflect the details of mass destruction that the world is in possession at the current moment. The year of the research done was 2014 which more or less accounts for a recent data.

Source: (Bentley 2018)

Conclusion

Nuclear weapon got its display in the year 1945 in Japan and that has left the world peace in much distress leading to the formation of United Nations. Through joint efforts the use of nuclear weapons for launching attack has been regulated through different policies.

Weapons of mass destruction are enough to wipe out an entire population of human beings in a particular region in an easy manner. Bioterrorism agents are much more potentially dangerous than conventional weapons of war and their recent deployment has shown how biological weapons of mass destruction can harm the human race irrespective of the target demography.

References

Singh, V. V. (2016). Recent advances in electrochemical sensors for detecting weapons of mass destruction. A review. Electroanalysis, 28(5), 920-935.

Brewer, J. (2018). The Financing of Nuclear and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation. Center for a New American Security.

Motola, I., Burns, W. A., Brotons, A. A., Withum, K. F., Rodriguez, R. D., Hernandez, S., … & Schulman, C. I. (2015). Just-in-time learning is effective in helping first responders manage weapons of mass destruction events. Journal of trauma and acute care surgery, 79(4), S152-S156.

Lothringer, D. W., McGraw, M. S., Rautio, M. D., & Thaxton, L. H. (2016). Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction: A Preliminary Field Study in Improving Collaboration. Naval Postgraduate School Monterey United States.

Bentley, M. (2018). Review of Joseph M. Siracusa and Aiden Warren. 2017. Weapons of Mass Destruction: the Search for Global Security. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. Pp 278. ISBN 978-1-4422-4237-1, Paperback, $30.00.