Latest Weapon of mass destruction Stories
By Leonard Doyle In the twilight of his troubled presidency, George Bush has brought the isolated state of North Korea in from the cold with a promise to remove the country he once truculently described as part of the "Axis of Evil" from a terror blacklist, opening the way for eventual diplomatic relations. It was an abrupt reversal for Mr Bush, who once said he "loathed" North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-il, whom he described as a "pygmy". Gone was the President's earlier fighting talk of...
U.S. military officials named China as a threat to the United States and other countries in space.Army Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Horne of the U.S. Strategic Command said China is developing counter-space capabilities, which could add to Beijing's potential to curb access in the Taiwan Straits "and well beyond."Chinese People's Liberation Army writings imply that China could target and enemy's spy satellites along with navigation "to blind and deafen," Horne said.In early 2007, China showed off PLA's...
By Fitzgerald, Gerard J The first large-scale use of a traditional weapon of mass destruction (chemical, biological, or nuclear) involved the successful deployment of chemical weapons during World War I (1914- 1918). Historians now refer to the Great War as the chemist's war because of the scientific and engineering mobilization efforts by the major belligerents. The development, production, and deployment of war gases such as chlorine, phosgene, and mustard created a new and complex public...
By Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. intelligence community is ill-prepared to assess Iran's nuclear weapons capabilities and its intentions for developing weapons of mass destruction, a congressional report said on Wednesday. Noting "significant gaps in our knowledge and understanding of the various areas of concern about Iran," the House Intelligence Committee staff report questioned whether the United States could even effectively engage in talks with Tehran on ways to...
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Iranian U.N. Ambassador Javad Zarif rejected as without legal basis on Monday a Security Council demand that it suspend its nuclear activities by the end of the month or face the threat of sanctions. "Iran's peaceful nuclear program poses no threat to international peace and security and therefore dealing with this issue in the Security Council is unwarranted and void of any legal basis or practical utility," Zarif told the council. In lengthy comments...
By James Vicini WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The FBI has created a unit to study threats from weapons of mass destruction, its director Robert Mueller said on Wednesday, in a sign of lingering U.S fears of a chemical, biological or nuclear attack. Mueller said the creation of the unit was part of efforts to transform the agency that was widely criticized for failing to prevent the September 11 attacks. "This is a reflection of the necessity of focusing our efforts on preventing a weapon of...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Tuesday approved by voice vote adding North Korea to a law aimed at stemming the nuclear weapons ambitions of Iran and Syria. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist introduced the bill after Pyongyang defied international warnings and tested seven missiles this month, action which Frist described as "dangerous and provocative." "North Korea's recent missile launches illustrate the threat this regime poses to the American people, the people of the...
By Deborah Charles WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said on Friday it awarded $1.16 billion in contracts to three companies to develop equipment to scan cargo at border cities for nuclear weapons material. New York and New Jersey will get some of the first 80 devices, which were ordered "immediately" and will arrive this autumn, said Jarrod Agen, a Homeland Security spokesman. Agen said the award was not in response to a disclosure last week of a...
By Deborah Charles WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said on Friday it awarded $1.16 billion in contracts to three companies to develop equipment to scan cargo at border cities for nuclear weapons material. New York and New Jersey will get some of the first 80 devices, which were ordered "immediately" and will arrive this autumn, said Jarrod Agen, a Homeland Security spokesman. Agen said the award was not in response to a disclosure last week of a...
By Deborah Charles WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said on Friday it awarded $1.16 billion in contracts to three companies to develop equipment to scan cargo at border cities for nuclear weapons material. Raytheon Co., Thermo Electron Corp. and Canberra Industries were awarded the contracts for a program known as the advanced spectroscopic portal. Officials did not give the specific breakdown of the contract award but said it was divided roughly equally...
