The United States and weapons of mass destruction

The U.S. ratified the Biological and Toxins Weapons Convention (BWC) in March 1975. Negotiations for a legally binding verification protocol to the BWC proceeded for years. In 2001, negotations ended when the Bush administration rejected an effort by other signatories to create a protocol for verification, arguing that it would interfere with legitimate biological research.

The U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases in Fort Detrick, Maryland, produces small quantities of biological agents, for use in biological weapons defense research. According to the United States government, this research is performed in full accordance with the BWC.

The US through the American Type Tissue Collection, a non-profit institution, and the CDC sold or sent biological samples to Saddam Hussein's Iraq. Some or most of these figured in the biological weapons research program conducted by Iraq while some of it may have been used for vaccine development. Other countries including France, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom also supplied Iraq at this time. The US, under the successive administrations of Ronald Reagan and George Bush Sr., sold materials including strains of anthrax, West Nile virus and botulism to Iraq right up until 1989. Other bacteria sold included brucella melitensis, which damages major organs, and clostridium perfringens, which causes gas gangrene. class="external">[1

Chemical weapons

The United States ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) in April 1997. 7,500 tons of banned chemical weapons had been destroyed by 2002, about 22% of the arsenal, meeting the Phase II quota and deadline. The original committment to destroy 45% of the chemical stockpiles by April 2004 was not met. The U.S. requested an extension of this deadline (Phase III). [1] The administration requested a new deadline of December 2007 for Phase III and of April 2012 for Phase IV (total destruction).[1] It also noted that these deadlines may not be met due to environmental challenges and the U.S. decision to destroy leaking individual chemical shells before bulk storage chemical weapons.

The primary US facilities storage facilities for chemical weapons are Umatilla Chemical Depot in Oregon, Pueblo Chemical Depot in Colorado, Newport Chemical Depot in Indiana, Edgewood Chemical Activity in Maryland, Blue Grass Chemical Activity in Kentucky, Anniston Chemical Activity in Alabama, Pine Bluff Chemical Activity in Arkansas and Deseret Chemical Depot in Utah, the largest facility.[1]

Disposal of chemical munitions is occurring at Tooele Chemical Demilitarization Facility at Deseret, Aberdeen Proving Ground which holds Edgewood, Umatilla and Anniston. Pine Bluff and Newport are scheduled to begin destruction in the summer of 2004. Pueblo and Blue Grass are constructing pilot plants to test novel methods of disposal.

All chemical weapons at Johnston Atoll were destroyed by 2000 and that facility was closed.

Nuclear weapons

The United States nuclear arsenal are deployed in three areas: land based inter-continental missiles (ICBM), submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM), and the US Air Force’s heavy bomber group. The United States is one of the five "Nuclear Weapons States" (NWS) under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which the US ratified in 1968. On 13 October 1999 the United States Senate rejected ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, having previously ratified the Partial Test Ban Treaty in 1963.

The number of nuclear weapons possessed by the United States is difficult to determine exactly. Different treaties and organizations have different criteria for reporting nuclear weapons, especially those held in reserve, and those being dismantled or rebuilt. As of 1999, the country was said to have 12,000 nuclear weapons of all types stockpiled.[1] In its START treaty declaration for 2003, the U.S. listed 5968 deployed warheads as defined by START rules.[1] For 2004, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists listed the U.S. with about 7,000 operational and 3,000 reserve warheads.[1] In 2002, the United States and Russia agreed in the SORT treaty to reduce their deployed stockpiles to not more than 2200 warheads each. In 2003, the US rejected Russian proposals to further reduce both nation's nuclear stockpiles to 1500 each. The US has adopted a plan to modernise and update its allowed weapons as well as investigate the possibility of manufacturing "micronuclear weapons" for use on the battlefield and against bunkers.

The United States is the only country to have used nuclear weapons in a war. The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki killed hundreds of thousands of people, most of them civilians, and their military use remains controversial.

Land-based intercontinental ballistic and cruise missiles (ICBMs)

The US Air Force currently operates just over 500 ICBMs at around 15 missile complexes located primarily in the northern Rocky Mountain states and the Dakotas. These are of the Minuteman III and Peacekeeper ICBM variants. Peacekeeper missiles are being phased out by 2005. All USAF Minuteman II missiles have been destroyed in accordance to START, and their launch silos sealed or sold to the public. To comply with the START II most US multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles, or MIRV’s, have been eliminated and replaced with single warhead missiles. However, since the abandonment of the START II treaty, the U.S. is said to be considering retaining 800 warheads on 500 missiles.[1]

Sea-based ICBM’s

The US Navy is currently deploying 15 Ohio-class submarines. Each Ohio class is equipped with a complement of Trident missiles. The first eight Ohio-class submarines commissioned carry 24 Trident I missiles each; the final ten built are equipped with 24 Trident II missiles. Sea-launch weapons make up the majority of weapons declared under START II rules. Approximately 12 U.S. attack submarines are equipped to launch nuclear Tomahawk missiles but the missiles are not currently carried.

Heavy bomber group

The US Air Force also operates a strategic nuclear bomber fleet. The bomber force consists of 93 B-1s, 94 B-52s, and 21 B-2s. The majority of these heavy bombers either are being or have been retrofitted to operate in a solely conventional mode. The Strategic Air Command which for decades had kept nuclear weapons aloft 24 hours a day was disbanded in 1992 and merged into the US Strategic Command.

In addition to this the US armed forces can also deploy tactical smaller nuclear weapons either through cruise missiles or with conventional fighter-bombers. The U.S. maintains about 850 nuclear gravity bombs capable of use by F-15, F-16, JSF and Panavia Tornado fighter aircraft. Some 150 of these bombs are deployed at nine airbases in six European NATO countries. The U.S. keeps its 320 Tomahawk missiles at Bangor, Washington, and King’s Bay, Georgia.

See also: M687