The WMD insinuation by the West, the debate over the impending genocide in Aleppo, and the swelling ranks of refugees, all point to an orchestrated shift in the narrative of the conflict that makes external intervention an ‘inevitability’.
Spilling of gas from a chemical factory can happen either because of accidental release or sabotage. In this era of terrorism such threats need to be reviewed on a much broader canvas.
Since its independence in 1948, Myanmar has consistently taken stance against all kinds of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). It has been a signatory to various international protocols and conventions against biological as well as chemical weapons, including the 1925 Geneva Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or Other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare; the 1972 Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxic Weapons Convention; and Chemical Weapons Convention or CWC (1993).
India and the United Kingdom, as nuclear weapons states, have much to gain from, and much to contribute to, a strengthened regime for nuclear and radiological security.
The book “Bioterrorism and Combating Strategies-Select Readings is an edited volume by Anila V Menon. As the very title suggests, this book basically deals with various aspects of bioterrorism and ways to combat them. Unfortunately, at a time when technological advancement has been treated as a blessing to the world, it has also been used as a tool to unleash massive destruction on humankind. The usage of biological warfare as a tool of violence by terrorist groups has made humankind highly vulnerable to such weapons.
The article studies the nature of threats emerging from the weapons of mass destruction and suggests policies for ensuring security against these threats. It argues for widening the attention paid to these weapons to give more focus to chemical and biological weapons.
The article analyses the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan’s threat of use of chemical weapons inside Pakistan. It looks at the recent such instance of possible low scale use of chemical agents and argues that the recent threat is more of tactical nature.
Modern Nation States are complex systems that today suffer from the affliction of terrorism, which can attack its vital centers and connective tissue. Even as nation’s try to counter, terrorists are themselves evolving and seeking new capabilities to more effectively injure their hosts, including all forms of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
A relaxed security situation has the potential to provide space for non-state actors to launch an attack with Weapons of Mass Destruction. While it may be difficult to deter WMD threats, there are ways and means to minimise the possibility of WMD attacks. The author argues that the solution lies in adopting an integrated approach by simultaneously addressing the 'demand' and 'supply' side of the WMD threat. This would imply maintaining pressure on nuclear capable states to heighten security of nuclear assets and also, severing the drug mafia-terrorist linkages in the longer run.
The Beginning of the End in Syria
The WMD insinuation by the West, the debate over the impending genocide in Aleppo, and the swelling ranks of refugees, all point to an orchestrated shift in the narrative of the conflict that makes external intervention an ‘inevitability’.