Chemical and Biological Warfare Agents as Weapons of Mass Destruction: Myth and Reality

At the end of World War II, the Tizard report^[13] appeared. It looked at the future potential of nuclear and biological weapons, both of which had been used during that conflict. The term weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) seems to have been used for the first time in this report because it appeared that both agents would cause mass loss of life. Chemical weapons were added to this group during the 1950s, when the equilibrium of international power depended on analysis of the possession of the three WMD agents. In retrospect, the WMD classification was (at least medically) inappropriate. Consideration of the events of World War II showed that nuclear weapons should be classified together with weapons systems that cause mass loss of life and destruction to material and the environment. The heavy destruction and loss of life during the conventional high explosive and fire bombing of Germany in the latter part of the war bear evidence to this.