Weapons of Mass Destruction free essay sample

The first chemical weapon, the second a biological, the third is classified as a radioactive weapon; and each of these weapons are capable of killing hundreds of thousands. So whats the difference between these different kinds of weapons? First, the chemical weapon of mass destruction. The chemical weapon has been around since the start of World War I. During World War I the U. S. created mustard gas, a gas that was tasteless, colorless, and odorless; but would cause giant blisters on the skin and lungs that would eventually enlarge until they took over the whole body and the person would die. Throughout the years the U. S. was able to concentrate the power of this chemical weapon and make them more precise. Now, small scale chemical weapons are used on a daily basis. We use tear gas for crowd control, laughing gas to knock someone out, and many different types of anesthesia and crowd control devices that are considered small scale chemical-weapons of mass destruction (WMD). The second type of weapon is a biological weapon. A biological weapon make use of many biological agents, including bacteria, viruses, and toxins. These different materials can now be concentrated and used to wipe out whole nations. In Israel and Africa biological weapons are used on a daily bases. People will take a dead or diseased animal and use it to foul up a well so that when people drink out of that well, they get sick, and it spreads throughout villages killing he all the villagers before it can be stopped. In today’s society biological weapons are becoming less popular with the U. S. but more popular with other nations. Syria in the 20s were trying to isolate the virus small pox to conceal it into a weapon. It took them six years to finally develop the missile, but when they were finished they had enough small pox disease to wipe out the entire world twice over. The third classification of weapon is a radioactive weapon. Radioactive weapons were created in 1943 when a scientist was studying a chemical weapon. The scientist said that the chemical weapon gave off a deadly material that would destroy objects and render land useless unless the land is torn out and replaced with new soil. The scientist died before he could discover anymore. He died of radiation poisoning. The U. S. has drones that are constantly patrolling the air looking for anything suspicious and reporting it. The drones use lasers to help them take a picture with their thermal heat cameras that help us to find WMD’s. Most weapons can easily be detected, but the hardest one to detect is a biological weapon of mass destruction. Biological weapons are difficult to identify because they use microscopic bacteria. Lasers and ionization can now be used to automatically find the bacteria in a given sample. Analysis of the bacteria present can alert the inspector to the presence of common bioterrorism agents like anthrax. Handheld devices are carried by United Nations weapons inspectors. This brick-sized machine can analyze a sample and tell whether is contains deadly bacteria or not. This process used to take a whole lab of equipment. (Drones). As you can see, the U. S. has an extremely reliable detection services that can easily detect a WMD. We have x-rays, gamma imaging, drones, and powerful lasers that can detect the presence of a nuclear weapon that could kill millions. All in all the U. S. has created many different resources that could save millions of lives with teams ready to deploy on sight of a sighted WMD: constant aircrafts that are patrolling the skies, and very advanced technology that can search out any type of weapon; whether it be launched or is still being transported, we will find it. Although it is true that many other countries have successfully created weapons of mass destruction that could destroy the U. S. , this is the reason the war in Iraq started was because of nuclear weapons. However, other countries alone having weapons of mass destruction would not be enough to harm us because we are prepared. In conclusion, even though there are other countries with weapons that could destroy the U. S. , we are prepared enough that it would not pose a very big threat because it could easily be destroyed. Though many people believe that the U. S. is not ready to defend itself against weapons of mass destruction; there are many precautions in place including: missile targeting systems, patrolling aircrafts, and teams ready to deploy on sight of a WMD that has been fired. The U. S. has trained teams of military men and women trained to react in a situation involving a weapon of mass destruction. The military only accept the ones that are able to pass the test with one hundred percent accuracy. The men and women are ready any time and any day to react to the threat of a weapon of mass destruction. All over the United States there are Air Force units patrolling the sky and watching for anything out of the ordinary such as weapons of mass destruction. The pilots that are accepted into the U. S. Civil Air Patrol go through vigorous training to make them aware and ready to be thrown into action and have to adjust to a situation and solve a problem. They go through many challenging tests and advanced training to make sure that they can protect the American people. With all of the busy men and women in this country we need something that will never tire or fail to work. That is why missile targeting systems were created so they could keep a constant protective eye on the American people to keep them safe from any harm of a nuclear weapon.