Dumbing Down Wmd's

[Libertarian]

I heard Sean Hannity, on the radio, refer to chlorine gas as a WMD. I tried to find documentation of it last week so I could post a link here but failed (if I were SH, I wouldn't want my words documented either). But, today, National Review comes to the rescue:

http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=OTE4ZmY3NjA4ZWRiMWYwMDU3ODM5ZDZmYmVmOTA0MDY=


So..............
are we at the point where TNT and chlorine gas have become Weapons of Mass Destruction?? If so, is there a country in the world without WMDs? Hell, is there an Olympic sized pool in the U.S. without WMDs?

 

[RandFan]

Considering the hell caused in Bhopal as a result I would have to say that Chlorine gas is close but what the hell do I know?

 

[Libertarian]

I didn't know that it had been used in WW I. Don't get me wrong, it's a serious chemical. but a WMD?

 

[Tricky]

I didn't know that it had been used in WW I. Don't get me wrong, it's a serious chemical. but a WMD?

Yes, Chlorine gas is a WMD if produced in sufficient amounts. Certainly it was serious enough that its use was banned by international law. The horror of chlorine gas is one of the things that is the essence of many a WW I novel.

My grandfather was gassed in WW I. He wasn't killed, but he died in his 40's of complications.

I'm not sure at what point a weapon becomes a WMD though. If it means "kills many without targeting", then any bombs are WMD. Carpet bombing certainly qualifies in my mind. I believe the term was just used indiscriminately to make Iraq sound scary.

 

[geni]

So..............
are we at the point where TNT and chlorine gas have become Weapons of Mass Destruction??

At the present time the answer would probably be

TNT no, chlorine gas yes.

see

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weapons_of_Mass_Destruction#Historic_use_of_the_term_WMD

If so, is there a country in the world without WMDs? Hell, is there an Olympic sized pool in the U.S. without WMDs?

Bis (2-chloroethyl) sulfide (mustard gas) is used in a number of organic synthersis roots so that is also pretty common (although regulated).

 

[Just thinking]

Yes, Chlorine gas is a WMD if produced in sufficient amounts. Certainly it was serious enough that its use was banned by international law.

I concur. When placed in a device where the intended use is to indiscriminately cause death and suffering, then a WMD it sure is. And considering its target is where the wind takes it ... the death toll can indeed be massive.

[PS Tricky ... sorry to hear that about your grandfather.]