homeland security forum responses(215)

Hello Class,

Define the nature and varieties of the primary internal Federal Regulatory efforts that govern Weapons of Mass Destruction.

For this week’s forum we are looking at the Federal Regulatory efforts that govern Weapons of Mass Destruction. It is extremely important to have law against Weapons of Mass Destruction. The world learned a lot when the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Japan. The world discovered that Weapons of Mass Destruction were to powerful and had to be regulated. To help regulate Weapons of Mass Destruction there have been a few treaties signed by nations to limit the development of Weapons of Mass Destruction. In 1972 the Biological Weapons Convention treaty was signed. According to Graham (2008), “This treaty bans the development, production, and acquisition of biological and toxin weapons and the delivery systems specifically designed for their dispersal.” The problem with the Biological Weapons Convention treaty though is the fact that some of the things used for these weapons are also used for good. This makes biological weapons very difficult to detect and shutdown. According to Graham (2008), “Moreover, the treaty is not supported at the international level by an overarching strategy for preventing biological weapons proliferation and terrorism.” Another very important treaty is the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. According to Graham (2008), “The number of states that are armed with nuclear weapons or are seeking to develop them is increasing.” With terrorist groups trying their best to obtain Weapons of Mass Destruction and other countries doing their best on building their own Weapons of Mass Destruction the United States needs to make sure that they are preventing this along with the help of their allies. According to Graham (2008), “The United States should work internationally toward strengthening the nonproliferation regime, reaffirming the vision of a world free of nuclear weapons…” The biggest thing it to charge heavy fines and penalties when a nation violates the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (Graham 2008). By having severe penalties when a nation breaks the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty it will help eliminate threat and keep nations in check. According to Graham (2008), “strengthening the International Atomic Energy Agency, to include identifying the limitations to its safeguarding capabilities, and providing the agency with the resources and authorities needed to meet its current and expanding mandate.” Strengthening the International Atomic Energy Agency is extremely important because it will give them more power to protect the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

References

Graham, B. (2008, December). World at Risk - American Biological Safety Association. Retrieved November 9, 2016, from https://www.absa.org/leg/WorldAtRisk.