Weapon of mass destruction
| "Weapon of mass destruction" link (weapon, enemy image, plastic word) Sourcewatch | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | technology, propaganda |
| A plastic phrase and enemy image hyped as part of Operation Mass Appeal | |
A "weapon of mass destruction" can potentially kill millions of people and destroy a lot of infrastructure. At the same time, the phrase "weapon of mass destruction" has been used for propaganda to promote fear and invoke enemy images; exemplified by the media reporting in the run up the the 2003 Iraq war, when it turned out there were none.
Official Narrative
Wikipedia states that "a weapon of mass destruction (WMD or WoMD) is a nuclear, radiological, biological, chemical or other weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to a large number of humans or cause great damage to human-made structures (e.g. buildings), natural structures (e.g. mountains), or the biosphere". It goes along the lines of the Department of Homeland Security definition.[1] Wikipedia also notes that: "The scope and usage of the term has evolved and been disputed, often signifying more politically than technically."
Etymology
Originally coined in reference to aerial bombing with chemical explosives during World War II, it has later come to refer to large-scale weaponry of other technologies, such as chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear warfare.
Problems with the terminology
Nuclear, chemical and biological weapons can justifiably be called "weapons of mass destruction" and are self-evident so, but depending on the definition in use, the term can also used for weapons of lesser capacity, ie small scale explosive devices.[2]
United States
US law is so broad that a "weapon of mass destruction" may be anything that explodes, leading political scientist and "terrorism"-fear skeptic John Mueller to comment that "As I understand it, not only is a grenade a weapon of mass destruction, but so is a maliciously-designed child's rocket even if it doesn't have a warhead."[3]