They are also known as weapons
of indiscriminate destruction, weapons of mass
disruption and weapons of catastrophic effect.
The United States claims to have "clear
superiority" in
nuclear weapon,
biological weapon and
chemical weapon technologies, and has stockpiles of nuclear and other
weapons sufficient to wipe out Earth's whole population.
The
United Nations prefers a wider definition of WMD than the old NBC
trio - including
radiological weapons. Also the
American Committee for the United Nations University in its
2001 State of the Future report cited the
Swedish Peace Insitute and other sources as arguing that
artificial intelligence,
genetics,
proteomics,
molecular engineering had vastly greater potential than NBC
weapons to destroy not only human but all life on Earth, within
credible near-term development pathways. Early promoters of some of these
technologies actually tend to have the most cautionary views:
Hugo de Garis,
K. Eric Drexler,
Bill Joy, and recently
Martin Rees, the UK Astronomer-Royal, have made such
apocalyptic predictions.
Center for Nonproliferation Studies
(CNS)
Information and analysis to combat the spread of
weapons of mass destruction. The Center for
Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) strives to combat the spread of weapons of
mass destruction (WMD) by training the next generation of
nonproliferation specialists and disseminating timely information and
analysis. CNS at the Monterey
Institute of International Studies is the largest nongovernmental
organization in the United States devoted exclusively to research and
training on nonproliferation issues.
You can search the site By Subject;Chem/Bio
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By Regions and by Countries;Americas
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WMD
Around the World
A site by Federration of American Scientists
A global guide to nuclear, chemical and biological weapons,
including information on delivery systems, doctrine, organizations and
facilities.
Arms Control
Arms control regimes limiting nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons,
as well as missiles and other weapons.
WMD Possessors
A site by The Acronym Institute, for
disarmament policy
Five states, the "P-5", are defined as nuclear weapon states under
the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT):
Britain, China,
France,
US and
Russia.
At least three more are de facto nuclear weapon possessors (the D-3):
India,
Pakistan
and Israel. These eight have the most advanced missile programmes and
have also had, and in some cases may continue to have, biological
and/or chemical weapons or programmes.
Alliance for Nuclear Accountability
the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability (ANA)
is a network of more than 30 local, regional and national peace
and environmental groups representing the concerns of communities in the
shadows of the U.S. nuclear weapons sites and radioactive waste dumps
Environmental Foundation Bellona
Bellona a non-profit foundation.
Formally, we are named the , but usually Bellona is sufficient. At
the end of the 1980s Bellona became well known through spectacular
actions against Norwegian industrial companies with more or less
significant cases of environmental contamination on their conscience.
Since then, Bellona have taken on a more international focus,
particularly through her work on nuclear contamination in Russia, and
put a stronger focus on analyses and on the obtaining of facts.
Bulletin of Atomic Scientists
The Educational Foundation for Nuclear Science
(EFNS), incorporated as a not-for-profit organization in 1949,
publishes the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and manages other related
programs from its office in Chicago.
CCNR is a not-for-profit organization
It is dedicated to education and
research on all issues related to nuclear energy, whether civilian or
military -- including non-nuclear alternatives -- especially those
pertaining to Canada
Center for Arms Control, Energy, and Environmental Studies,
Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology
Iraq and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Central Intelligence Agency, Prewar Status of
Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction
The
Council for a Livable World
The Council for a Livable World is among
the nation's preeminent arms control organizations and focuses on halting
the spread of weapons of mass destruction, opposing a national missile
defense system, cutting Pentagon waste and reducing excessive arms
exports.
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
The task of our Institute is to conduct research on questions of
conflict and cooperation of importance for international peace and
security, with the aim of contributing to an understanding of the
conditions for peaceful solutions of international conflicts and for a
stable peace.
National Geographic Magazine
Treaty documents:
African Nuclear Weapons Free Zone, 1996.
Antarctic Treaty, 1959.
Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty
and protocols.
Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty Standing Consultative Commission Documents,
September 26,
1997.
Chemical Weapons Convention, 1993.
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, 1996.
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces, 1987.
Joint Statement on the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, Clinton/Yeltsin
Summit,
Helsinki, March 21, 1997.
Joint Statement on the START III Framework and START II,
Clinton/Yeltsin
Summit, Helsinki,
March 21, 1997.
Limitation on retirement or dismantlement of strategic nuclear delivery
systems, Sec. 1501 of the FY 1999 Defense Authorization Bill (H.R.
1119).
Limited Test Ban Treaty, 1963.
Russian Duma Bill of Ratification of START II Treaty,Adopted
April 14, 2000.
SALT I agreement, 1972.
SALT II agreement, 1979.
Seabed Treaty, 1971.
Senate advice and consent to ratification of the START II Treaty,
The Congressional Record, U.S. Senate,
January 26, 1996.
START I and protocol, 1991, 1992.
START II : Treaty between the United States of America and the Russian
Federation on Further Reductions and Limitations of Strategic Offensive
Arms, text.
January 3, 1993.
The Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on the
question of legality of nuclear weapons - summary, provided by the
Physicians for Global Survival, Canada, September 1996.
The Package of Decisions Adopted at NPT Review and Extension Conference,
1995.
Threshold Test Ban Treaty, 1974.
Treaty of Rarotonga (South Pacific Nuclear-Free Zone Treaty), 1985.
Treaty of Tlatelolco (Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
in Latin
America), 1967.
Outer Space Treaty, 1967.
Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, 1968.
Underground Peaceful Nuclear Explosions Treaty (PNE Treaty), 1976.
