HLSS522Wk1

The very definition of weapon of mass destruction has been debated, and it has evolved over time. The first documented use of the term was by Archbishop of Canterbury William Lang, who wrote the following in a London Times article published in 1937:

“Take, for example, the question of peace. Who can think without dismay of the fears, jealousies, and suspicions which has compelled nations, our own among them, to pile up their armaments? Who can think at this present time without a sickening of the heart of the appalling the slaughter, the suffering, the manifold misery brought by war to Spain and to China? Who can think without horror of what another widespread war would mean, waged as it would be with all the new weapons of mass destruction? Yet how fruitless seem to be all efforts to secure a really settled peace.” (Lang, 1937)

EARLY USAGE MODERN USAGE

At the time of Lang’s writing, Europe was clearly on the verge of a war that would ravage the planet for six years and end with the first (and so far only) use of nuclear weapons in warfare. Immediately following that war’s end, U.S. President Harry Truman introduced the term into modern usage when he wrote of “weapons adaptable to mass destruction” in a joint resolution signed with British and Canadian leaders. In 1948, the United Nations defined the term “weapon of mass destruction” (or “WMD”) more clearly:

“[WMD are] . . . atomic explosive weapons, radioactive material weapons, lethal chemical and biological weapons, and any weapons developed in the future which have characteristics comparable in destructive effect to those of the atomic bomb or other weapons mentioned above.” (Commission for Conventional Armaments, 1948)

What Are WMDs?

Back