WI-Global Weapons Proliferation

WMD

WMD

Weapons of Mass Destruction

Vertical (weapons) proliferation

the development and stockpiling of weapons within one’s country

Horizontal (weapons) proliferation

the development and stockpiling of weapons across country borders

Conventional weapons

weapons that make up the vast majority of arsenals--guns, tanks, bullets, planes ships

Biological weapons

WMDs also known as “germ” warfare, is the use of toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, insects, and fungi with the intent to kill, harm or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an act of war.

Chemical weapons

WMDs that can be widely dispersed in gas, liquid and solid forms, and may easily afflict others than the intended targets. Nerve gas, tear gas and pepper spray are three modern examples

ICBM

Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (thousands of times more powerful than the Atomic bombs the US dropped in WWII)

NPT

Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (1961)

CWC

Chemical Weapons Convention (1993)

SALT 1

Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (b/t USA & USSR in 1972)

CNTBT

Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (1996)

IAEA

International Atomic Energy Agency--institutions that checks to see that countries are not developing nuclear weapons programs

“supply side” arms trading

the idea that war (& the sale of weapons) will continue when countries PRODUCE lots of conventional weapons and WMDs. Advocates for peace will push countries to slow down weapons production (fewer guns/tanks etc. means less deaths)

“demand side” arms trading

the idea that war (& sale of weapons) will continue as long as there is a NEED for weapons (political instability, economic inequality) therefore advocates for peace promote social improvement in education, health care, job training which create an environment that is less chaotic.

guns v butter

the political debate as to whether a nation’s budget should prioritize social programs (education, housing, healthcare) versus defense spending (army, navy, air force, marines, coast guard)

“Megatons to Megawatts”

the 1993-2013 initiative between the US and Russia to fund nuclear scientists (who were out of work) to create nuclear energy from weapons grade Uranium.

MAD

Mutually Assured Destruction (a doctrine of military strategy and national security policy which posits that a full-scale use of nuclear weapons by an attacker on a nuclear-armed defender with second-strike capabilities would cause the complete annihilation of both the attacker and the defender.)

MAC

Mutual Assured Cyber-destruction (a doctrine of military strategy and national security policy which posits that a use of weapons like EMPs [electro-magnetic pulse] by an attacker on an EMP-armed defender with second-strike capabilities would cause the complete annihilation of both the attacker and the defender’s electronic grid.)

“nuclear taboo”

the idea that nuclear weapons are no longer usable in war—despite the fact that both the United States and Russia continue to rely on the threat to use nuclear weapons to defend themselves.

military industrial complex

President Eisenhower’s description of the relationship between a country's military and the defense industry that supplies it, seen together as a vested interest which influences public policy.

[top 4 companies listed below with government annual contracts]

Lockheed Martin $47.3B

Boeing: $29.2B

Northrop Grumman Corp $23.4B

Raytheon $26.2B

Upgrading the US nuclear weapons program

Cost: $1T (one trillion dollars)