Summarize this:
Biological, Chemical, & Other Non-Nuclear Threats
Biological, chemical and other non-nuclear threats, such ascyber and drone attacks, constitute a class of weapons that may notcause as much mass physical destruction as nuclear weapons can, butcan result in significant mass effects on, and/or mass disruptionsto, a targeted populace. Weapons experts still debate whether thesenon-nuclear weapons can truly be considered weapons of massdestruction; however, certain types of biological weapons, such asweaponized smallpox or anthrax, could in principle harm millions ofpeople depending on the scenario and the extent of the population’sexposure to the biological weapons. Chemical weapons under almostall circumstances would not result in massive harm to millions ofpeople. Nonetheless, from a cost perspective, chemical weapons andeven biological weapons are considerably less expensive thannuclear weapons. Still, chemical and biological weapons could havesimilar deterrent effects as nuclear weapons. Thus, from theviewpoint of many nation-states, chemical and biological weaponsare so-called poor man’s nuclear weapons.
The Challenges of Reducing and Detecting TheseThreats
Addressing these threats is difficult because the weapons can bemanufactured in ways that use civilian technology and materials.Furthermore, manufacturing them does not typically require largeobservable infrastructures to be established, thus making it hardto detect their production. While chemical and biological weaponsare banned internationally via the Chemical Weapons Convention andBiological and Toxin Weapons Convention with the vast majority ofnations as adherents, the world has witnessed that certain states,for example, Syria still have chemical weapons as well as suspectedbiological weapons. As of late 2013 through early 2014, the Syriangovernment has promised to dismantle its chemical weaponsprogram.
FAS has had a long history in bringing leading chemical andbiological experts to analyze these threats, educate policymakersand the public, and make recommendations to reduce the risks. Forinstance, FAS in recent years has created the Virtual BiosecurityCenter (VBC) to provide a platform for education. FAS has alsoconvened legal, scientific, and political experts in workshops suchas a January 2014 workshop on bio-forensics to examine state-leveloptions for response to biological threats or attacks. FAS seeks tofurther this work in chemical weapons assessments, as well. Inparticular, FAS has had expert analysis during the early phases ofthe chemical weapons crisis in Syria.
Other Non-Nuclear Threats
Weapons technologies other than nuclear, biological, andchemical weapons will most likely increasingly pose challenges forinternational security. For example, the increasing use of dronesfor both surveillance and armed attacks by the United States and agrowing number of additional countries might lead to global andregional arms races in drone use or might result in asymmetricmeans of targeted opponents striking back. In addition,cyber-attacks as demonstrated by the use of Stuxnet to destroy anddisable about 1,000 uranium enrichment centrifuges in Iran haveraised concern about counter-cyber-attacks against the UnitedStates and its allies. Also in this threat area, we at FAS willinvestigate the use of prompt global strike advanced conventionalweapons to achieve strategic purposes or to target terrorists andother non-state actors. FAS is expanding its network of experts toassess these and other non-nuclear threats can are present or couldemerge in the future.
