Military Aspects of Chemical Warfare

"History of the Chemical Threat, Chemical Terrorism, and Its Implications for Military Medicine," chapter 4 of Military Aspects of Chemical Warfare, 2008.
by Jeffery K. Smart, Al Mauroni, Benjamin a. Hill Jr, and Allart B. Kok

This chapter is the third in the series of historical investigations into the use of chemicals as weapons, following Chapter 2, History of Chemical Warfare, which focuses on the history of chemical warfare on the battlefield, and Chapter 3, History of the medical management of Chemical Casualties, which describes the organizational management of the resultant casualties. Over the last 20 years, the nature of the chemical threat dramatically changed. This chapter outlines the historical progression of chemical weapon development, summarizes how conventional and unconventional agents may be delivered in the contexts of conventional conflict and terrorism, and addresses the status of current warfare capabilities in relation to the evolution and of international chemical warfare agreements.