Weapons of mass destruction
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| Weapons of |
| mass destruction |
| By Type |
|---|
| Biological weapons |
| Chemical weapons |
| Nuclear weapons |
| Radiological weapons |
| By Country |
| Brazil |
| Canada |
| China (PRC) |
| France |
| India |
| Iran |
| Iraq |
| Israel |
| North Korea |
| Pakistan |
| Russia |
| South Africa |
| Taiwan (ROC) |
| United Kingdom |
| United States |
| Nuclear weapon topics |
| Nuclear countries |
| Nuclear proliferation |
| Nuclear strategy |
| Nuclear terrorism |
| Nuclear warfare |
| Nuclear weapon history |
| Nuclear weapon design |
| Nuclear explosion |
| Nuclear testing |
| See also |
| Dirty bomb |
Weapons of mass destruction (WMD) are weapons designed to kill large numbers of people, typically targeting civilians and military personnel alike. Some types of WMDs are considered to have a psychological impact rather than a strictly military usefulness.
Though the phrase was coined in 1937 to describe aerial bombardment by conventional explosive bombs in large quantities, the types of weapons today considered to be in this class are often referred to as NBC weapons or ABC weapons:
They are also known as weapons of indiscriminate destruction, weapons of mass disruption and weapons of mass effects.
The modern military definition is "Weapons that are capable of a high order of destruction and/or of being used in such a manner as to destroy large numbers of people. Weapons of mass destruction can be high explosives or nuclear, biological, chemical, and radiological weapons, but exclude the means of transporting or propelling the weapon where such means is a separable and divisible part of the weapon." (source, Joint Publication 1-02, http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/new_pubs/jp1_02.pdf)
The term has recently come in wide use in connection with the 2002 Iraq disarmament crisis and the alleged existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq that became a pretext for the 2003 invasion of Iraq. pl:Broń masowego rażenia
