The Importance Of Chemical Warfare

What is chemical warfare and why should we care about it? Chemical warfare is the use of toxins as a devastating weapon. So devastating that it falls under the WMD’s or weapon(s) of mass destruction. Although chemical weapons aren 't as prolific as during the WW1, they still pose a real threat. The most recent case and point is in Syria when they used chemical weapons on their own civilians after they were told by the OPCW to destroy them (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-34212324). But there are organizations made to stop the threat of chemical weapons such as the OPCW or the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (https://www.opcw.org/). We need to stop the threat of chemical weapons. They are too easily obtained, produced and used. Also if you don 't have the proper protection against it, which most people don 't, then you have a real chance of dying
Firstly based off opcw.org they are still trying to get a foothold on the war they waged on chemical weapons. Until wasn’t until recently that they got the Syrian government to destroy their cache of chemical weapons (https://www.opcw.org/news/article/destruction-of-syrian-chemical-weapons-completed/). They just got them to destroy their chemical weapons after several years so it’s a real possibility that other countries have chemical weapons. They also used chemical weapons after they said they wouldn’t (https://www.opcw.org/special-sections/syria/exchange-of-letters-with-the-syrian-foreign-minister/). Secondly sis.nlm.nih.gov lists the various effects of chemical weapons from various chemical agents. Nerve agents attack the enzymes responsible for nerve impulses which causes things like seizures, spasms, vomiting, and even death (https://sis.nlm.nih.gov/enviro/chemicalwarfare.html#a1). Or the blister agents that cause skin blisters, damage to eyes, respiratory tract, and internal organs (https://sis.nlm.nih.gov/enviro/chemicalwarfare.html#a1). It 's no wonder why there are many ethical issues with the use and existence of chemical weapons. Or why the OPCW wants to destroy all the chemical weapons that still exist today. They aren’t just devastating weapons that kill people. They’re devastating weapons that cause suffering before death. It’s also seen throughout history that many people have issues with the use of chemical weapons. So not only does it cause death in large proportions but they cause pain and suffering before death, that 's if they die. …show more content…
If they don’t die right away it’s almost inevitable that they will later on since there are many health side effects after being exposed to chemical weapons. Lastly informaction.org details the effects of chemical weapons on the environment. Agent Orange which is an aggressive herbicide was used in large scale in Vietnam and destroyed over 15% of their vegetation (http://www.informaction.org/index.php?menu=menua.txt&main=weapons_effects.txt&s=Weapons). Not to mention the health problems caused to the people and wildlife that inhabit that area. So how does all this relate to stop the use of chemical weapons? Quite easily actually, all the information stated above is more than sufficient evidence for the reason of destroying chemical weapons. First of all they pose great ethical issues. They are known as a WMD for a reason, for its destructive capabilities. They are also not “conventional weapons” because of their destructive potential (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_warfare). But unlike other WMD’s (nuclear and biological) they don’t kill quickly. Instead they cause major pain and suffering before death if they 're lucky enough to die right away. The effects vary from agent to agent but all of them have devastating effects. For example the nerve agents that attack the nerve impulses or blister agents that attack the eyes, skin, and respiratory tract (https://sis.nlm.nih.gov/enviro/chemicalwarfare.html#a1). It 's only natural that people would be against the suffering caused by these chemical weapons. Many of the chemical weapons that exist today are a result of WW1. After WW1 many others wanted to create their own deadlier chemical weapons (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_warfare). Although there were countries ready to retaliate if chemical weapons were used so that really pushed people away from using their chemical weapons. But they still have stockpiles of them just waiting to be possibly used. This poses a major threat to anybody and everybody. This is one of the reasons why the OPCW is still working hard to complete the total destruction of chemical weapons. Place like Syria where they refused to destroy their cache until recently are the problem still today. These chemical weapons are too easily obtained and used. Which is also