In the recent years, there have been rising tensions on the transformation of acts of terror that have evolved from activities of physical destruction to biochemical attacks. Terrorists have therefore designed their weapons in ways that ensure significant destruction of the biosphere or human anatomy through slow processes such as emitting toxic chemicals into the air, water or any other natural structure that can be compromised with minimal detection. The advancement has facilitated the use of these weapons in technology and r adicalization. The security of the United States has continued to be threatened by terrorists who have occasionally threatened to bring violence to the United States. Consequently, the United States has responded to such attacks by making it clear that they will be ruthless with anyone who threatens their national security. Air strikes by the United States have backed such talks, and this has helped secure the borders of the country. This paper will look at countermeasures to WMD threats by using an article that presents such information to create better understanding of the subject.
Living with the knowledge that enemies of the state can attack a population has never been easy for any citizens. Such threats take a toll on their physiological stability since it instills fear in them. In the United States, for example, terror threats tend to create fear since a majority of United States citizens were present when the 9/11 attack took place. This is an attack that took a significant toll on the security of the nation and also the trust of American citizens in their systems. Therefore, fear and anxiety are the psychological impacts of WMD attacks on the population. In the article, ‘Chemical Weapons Functional Exercise Cincinnati : Observations and Lessons Learned from a Typical Medium-Sized City’s Response to Simulated Terrorism Utilizing Weapons of Mass Destruction’ by FitzGerald et al. (2003), the ability of Cincinnati to prepare for attacks has been analyzed on opinions on how to combat terror threats have been offered. The article was written as a way of expressing the fear of unpreparedness the United States government had exhibited in dealing with impending attacks which included the anthrax scare which followed the 9/11 attack. The government, therefore, conducted multiple domestic drills in Cincinnati to ensure that public facilities and the nation at large would handle any subsequent attack appropriately to reduce the number of casualties. The discussion below, therefore, is a summary of how Cincinnati prepared itself for future attacks by weapons of mass destruction since the United States has continued to exhibit vulnerability when it comes to mass terror attacks.
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The issue of WMD attacks has continued to arouse debate in the global scenes since most countries have been unable to deal with imminent threats while those producing such weapons have continued to make them. This debate is crucial since it will assist in the elimination of such weapons from the world and this will bring about peace within war-torn countries. The topic in the subject should also help in the strategy formulation and enhance diplomatic ties among nations in the world as they work to eliminate weapons of mass destruction from the face of the earth (Hersman, 2018) . It will also help medium-sized cities in planning their towns and buildings in ways that ensure that they can efficiently evacuate their populations during responses to terror attacks.
In Cincinnati, the issue was helpful since it helped in preparing the local community on how to be safe during terror attacks. As a result, there was a remarkable improvement in the domestic preparedness for terror attacks since there have been great recommendations on ways to prepare for such calamities. To establish the importance of the topic the authors studied the implications of the drills in the facilities where they were carried out. Public health institutions and other medium medical facilities were tasked with educating themselves on the need to respond to terror attacks. Decontamination and victim transportation and treatment in the event of an attack were studied, and it was established the drills were effective in equipping the community with skills to d eal with terror attacks from chemical and biological weapons. This research and exercise were vital since they h ave helped in the confiscation of weapons of mass destruction and equipped the masses with ways of dealing with terror attacks.
It has also equipped the healthcare systems with ways of handling terror and ensuring that they respond appropriately to reduce the number of casualties in case of an attack. The article has also succeeded in exposing the loopholes in the field of terror study which can be attributed to the lack of policies that govern the nature of diplomacy around the globe. America, before the 9/11 also lacked institutions that would ensure that there was a dialogue between the government and radicalized groups. The lack of dialogue prompted drone strikes in countries such as Iraq and this frustrated any efforts to achieve peace since both Iraq and America felt aggrieved.
The article, however, has a valid discussion since it helps in depicting the lack of preparedness for terror attacks at the state level within most states. Over the years, this has changed since the federal government, in liaison with Homeland Security, has ensured adequate detection and prevention of crimes associated with terrorism. As a result, this has improved the security and safety of America and its citizens. On the other hand, the article exposed a weakness in the emergency response plan of healthcare facilities in the country. For many terrorists, this could offer a leeway to launch coordinate chemical attacks since most hospitals have ill-equipped response plans given that they all rely on the federal government to assist in chemical and biological attacks.
In their research, the authors have issued relevant comments and observations since most countries tend to treat chemical and biological terror attacks as an issue that should be dealt with by the army. As a result, most nations, especially America, end up piling their relevant counter-terror tools at centralized locations and accessing affected areas becomes a laborious task which causes an increase in the number of casualties. However, the efforts made to ensure that health facilities in Cincinnati are well equipped with tools to respond to large-scale attacks. During that exercise, the American government was able to acknowledge that states can take care of themselves during chemical attacks if they are adequately equipped with the appropriate emergency response plans as well as equipment.
However, much has been learned from this article and the same can be used to further knowledge in this field. Of importance is to note that the lessons learned from the article and previous terror attacks can be applied worldwide and the same can be used to reduce the chances of exposure to the chemical weapons. The report has offered an opportunity for medical practitioners who respond to emergencies to learn more about chemical reagents and how to deal with poisoning from such substances. For this to happen, states should liaise with the federal government, Homeland security, and the Center for Disease Control for them to be assisted with the necessary materials to deal with reactions from chemicals that interfere with the nervous system. If chemical exposure cannot be curbed, the federal government should equip the hospitals in densely populated areas with the necessary equipment and training to curb such calamities. The provision of antidotes and prevention agents should be emphasized on to manage the incidents in a way that ensures minimal casualties are reported. In Cincinnati, for example, the applications of countermeasures learned during the drill are essential since they ensure that victims who have been exposed to the biological attacks do not infect others and that they are quarantined in good time. Therefore, the article has helped in ensuring that hospital facilities can improve on their emergency responses during mass terrorism by having adequate resources at their disposal (Kazi, 2011) .
On account of the above points, it would suffice to conclude that the article has succeeded in focusing on the issues that surround the elimination of weapons of mass destruction. Given that there has been no honest dialogue among nations that produce these weapons, achieving world peace seems to be a mirage. This is so because, as much as America intends to stop the use of WDMs, it is not willing to stop the manufacture since the government believes that it is one of the ways that they can protect their citizens. However, the exercise conducted within Cincinnati was vital since they enabled the hospitals as well as the state governments to assess their capabilities to handle calamities resulting from terror attacks instead of relying on the federal government, which may take time to respond. The article has also helped in emphasizing the need for adequate emergency responses within local communities since chemical attacks tend to spread fast and they can cause overcrowding in medical facilities. Finding ways to decontaminate and detoxify victims will assist in ensuring that urban communities can take care of themselves in situations where the military response is not coming their way.
References
BOMBSHELL: New York Times Reports WMDs WERE Found in Iraq! - The Political Insider. (2018). Retrieved from https://thepoliticalinsider.com/bombshell-new-york-times-reports-wmds-found-iraq/
FitzGerald, D. J., Sztajnkrycer, M. D., & Crocco, T. J. (2003). Chemical weapon functional exercise--Cincinnati: observations and lessons learned from a" typical medium-sized" city's response to simulated terrorism utilizing Weapons of Mass Destruction. Public Health Reports , 118 (3), 205.
Hersman, R. (2018). Resisting Impunity for Chemical-Weapons Attacks. Survival , 60 (2), 73-90. doi: 10.1080/00396338.2018.1448576
Kazi, R. (2011). The Correlation Between Non-State Actors and Weapons of Mass Destruction. Connections: The Quarterly Journal , 10 (4), 1-10. doi: 10.11610/connections.10.4.01
