The Other WMDs

Countering WMD in Africa

2011-04-26T14:31:00.000-07:00

Presented at the Patuxent Defense Forum on 19 April 2011. Thesis: Our national strategy to counter WMD is focused on deterring nation-states that have or intend to develop WMD programs. It attempts to eliminate the WMD threat against US territories, forces, and interests through the development of global awareness and engagement efforts, offensive and defensive capabilities, and deployable response capabilities. However, this framework fails when applied to an area of operations such as US Africa Command, given the lack of a robust US military presence and the lack of an existing or potential threat, either from nation-states or transnational actors.

Biodefense Monograph

2010-03-24T12:40:00.000-07:00

“Progress of ‘Biodefense for the 21st Century’ – A Five-Year Evaluation,” Project on National Security Reform, January 2009

Case study presented on Thursday, January 15, 2009; 3:00 - 4:30 PM

This case study reviews the progress made toward a strategy for "Biodefense for the 21st Century," a federal government effort announced in April 2004 to identify specific goals for the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, and Health and Human Services relative to planning for, and responding to, the threat of bioterrorism in the United States. After five years, the US government has developed a limited capability in the areas of biological detection and surveillance, biological threat risk assessments, medical countermeasures research and stockpiling, and standards for remediation. Nonetheless, the lack of a strategic plan identifying specific goals and actions toward an end state, as well as the absence of top-down leadership to guide interagency actions, assess national-level readiness, and allocate resources accordingly, leaves unclear how well the US government is doing or what it will require to reach an optimal end state.

The Project on National Security Reform (PNSR) is a non-partisan initiative that seeks to improve the U.S. Government's ability to integrate all elements of national power and more effectively respond to the strategic challenges of the 21st century. The PNSR case studies inform the other analytic work of PNSR by highlighting recurring trends in how the U.S. national security system addresses complex national security problems.

Military Aspects of Chemical Warfare

2009-03-24T10:14:00.000-07:00

"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 chemical warfare capabilities in relation to the evolution and implementation of international chemical warfare agreements.

CB Warfare - A Reference Handbook, 2d ed

2009-03-24T09:47:00.000-07:00

Chemical and Biological Warfare: A Reference Handbook, second edition, ABC-Clio, Santa Barbara, CA, 2006

A thorough handbook covering the facts, history, and controversies surrounding our most controversial and misunderstood unconventional weapons.

Short of a nuclear holocaust, no weapons are more frightening to us—or more sensationalized by the media—than chemical and biological weapons. But we can face these invisible killers and even overcome them, writes former army chemical officer Al Mauroni, if we stop moralizing and focus on understanding the facts.

Unlike most books on this topic, the expanded second edition of Mauroni's popular reference handbook is neither sensationalistic nor moralistic. Instead, it offers readers a reasoned, thorough, and fact-based introduction to this highly charged issue.

Covering the period from World War I through the Iraq War, Chemical and Biological Warfare not only describes the development of key chemical and biological agents, such as anthrax, tularemia, brucellosis, VEE, Q fever, and botulinum toxin, it also assesses the threats we face, compares military CB warfare with terrorist incidents, explains effective defensive measures, and clarifies the responsibilities of the various federal agencies charged to address these issues. With extensive new material, this edition provides an authoritative and up-to-date introduction to this vitally important topic.

Midwest Book Review

Where Are The WMDs?

2009-03-24T08:55:00.000-07:00

Where Are The WMDs? The Reality of Chem-Bio Threats on the Home Front and the Battlefront, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD, 2006

There are many books on the Iraq war and on WMD-type issues, but this is the first to offer a historical overview of chemical-biological defense issues and a policy analysis of how the U. S. government addresses the threat of weapons of mass destruction and how ground forces deal with the problem on the battlefield. Al Mauroni looks at how the 9/11 disaster forced the Department of Defense to review its management of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) defense equipment and then make significant changes. He outlines in detail the government's decision to invade Afghanistan and Iraq and search for WMDs.

The fact that no such weapons were found, the author explains, has had dramatic consequences for how U.S. military forces address the use of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons in Iraq and how they support the federal response to terrorist incidents involving these weapons at home. Mauroni draws on two decades of experience in the area of chemical-biological defense policy to present this comprehensive analysis of the decision-making process within the Department of Defense and the actions of U.S. forces in the second Iraq War. Explaining that "WMD" is no longer a useful term for the threat faced by military leaders and emergency professionals, he also outlines a number of lessons learned from the conflicts in the Middle East and offers recommendations on how to improve CBRN defense for the future.

Army Chemical Review
Air & Space Power Review

CB Warfare - A Reference Handbook

2009-03-24T07:59:00.000-07:00

Chemical and Biological Warfare: A Reference Handbook, ABC-Clio, Santa Barbara, CA, 2003

Chemical and Biological Warfare: A Reference Handbook surveys the history of modern chemical and biological weapons, from their genesis on World War I battlefields through their World War II deployment and Cold War research and development to present-day policies and strategies.

Casting aside moral issues and scare tactics, this uniquely unbiased reference explores both sides of this highly controversial topic, explaining the utility, necessity, and protected use of such weapons as well as the ramifications of their abuse. From delivery systems (bombs, missiles, rockets) and defense methods (detection devices, protective suits, decontaminants) to the deployment of such weapons in the Vietnam and Persian Gulf Wars, students and concerned citizens alike will discover the real reasons behind U.S. support for chemical and biological warfare.

Army Chemical Review

Chemical Demilitarization

2009-03-24T06:16:00.000-07:00

Chemical Demilitarization: Public Policy Aspects, Praeger Publishers, Westport, CT, 2003

For more than 15 years, the Army's chemical demilitarization program has been criticized and castigated as a potentially dangerous effort, poorly executed without concern for the public. By reviewing the chemical demilitarization program as a public policy area, Mauroni offers a different perspective on how the Army worked with Congress and the public to offer the safest program possible. The Army was forced to delay its own schedule and increase the breadth and depth of the program to address political demands and idealistic environmental concerns. Mauroni contends that Army and Department of Defense leadership's insistence on treating this program as a strictly technical effort, rather than as a public policy concern is in part responsible for the public's misunderstanding of the Army's execution of the program.

Despite its challenges, the Army is well on its way to accomplishing its goal of destroying the U.S. chemical weapons stockpile with no impact on the public or environment. They have stumbled through, however, rather than planned their exit. According to Mauroni, the Army needs to examine this program carefully to identify how to address public policy questions better in the future, to include responding to chemical and biological terrorism, developing a biological warfare vaccine program, and addressing future Gulf War illness questions. Their failure to learn will otherwise result in a continued inability to address critical questions on how they respond to chemical and biological warfare issues.

Army Chemical Review

CB Warfare History

2009-03-24T05:23:00.000-07:00

America’s Struggle with Chemical-Biological Warfare, Praeger Publishers, Westport, CT, 2000

Fear and ignorance have colored the perception of chemical and biological (CB) warfare both in the public and military spheres. Media coverage following the alleged gassing of sheep at Dugway Proving Ground in 1968 has led most people to believe that CB warfare is an unstoppable doomsday weapon of mass destruction. Yet, in 1972, General Creighton Abrams, the Army Chief of Staff, attempted to disestablish the Chemical Corps because he saw no need for it. Had that decision not been reversed in 1976, there would not have been any chemical defense specialists or equipment available for Operation Desert Storm in 1990.

This study tracks events relating to the Department of Defense's CB warfare program between 1968 and 1990, as it evolved up to the Gulf War. It also details how the military develops and procures CB defense equipment to protect today's soldiers. Mauroni draws parallels between the development of binary chemical weapons, the chemical demilitarization program, and the DoD CB terrorism response efforts, as each has very similar issues and solutions. He seeks to educate leading officials and the general public about the facts behind CB warfare and the options for coping with it in the future. With proper training and equipment, the challenge of CB warfare can be met and dealt with on the modern battlefield.

CB Defense - Persian Gulf War

2009-03-24T04:58:00.000-07:00

Chemical-Biological Defense: U.S. Military Policies and Decisions in the Gulf War, Praeger Publishers, Westport, CT, 1998

The Gulf War has been the only conflict in the last half-century that featured the possible use of chemical-biological weapons against U.S. forces. Vulnerability to such an attack spurred the Department of Defense to action from the first hint of trouble in August 1990 through the end of hostilities in March 1991. Nearly disbanded in 1972, the U.S. Army Chemical Corps would be the prime force in ensuring that U.S. forces could both survive and sustain combat operations under chemical-biological warfare conditions. Focussing on the work of senior Army officials, this account assesses the degree of readiness achieved by the ground war's initiation and the lessons learned since the conflict.

For an appropriately trained and equipped military force, chemical weapons pose not the danger of mass destruction but the threat of mass disruption, no more deadly than smart munitions or B-52 air strikes. This book will reveal a coordinated response to train and equip U.S. forces did take place prior to the feared Iraqi chemical and biological attacks. Undocumented in any other book, it details the plans that rushed sixty "Fox" reconnaissance vehicles to the Gulf, the worldwide call for protective suits and masks, and the successful placement of biological agent detectors prior to the air offensive. In addition, the work addresses what really happened at Khamisiyah. Were troops exposed to chemical weapons and what is behind the mysterious Gulf War Syndrome?

Parameters Review

Published Articles: 2011-present

2009-03-23T07:00:00.000-07:00

Disputation on the Strategy of Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction, January 2012, unpublished.

Published Articles - 2006-2010

2009-03-23T06:00:00.000-07:00

"Homeland Insecurity: Thinking About CBRN Terrorism," Homeland Security Affairs VI, no. 3, September 2010

"A Counter-WMD Strategy for the Future," U.S. Army's Parameters journal, Summer 2010, Vol. 40, No. 2.

"Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction: Aligning Capabilities with National Strategy," U.S. Army's Combating WMD Journal, Issue 4, 2010.

"Making Foreign Consequence Management Harder," Praeger Security International, September 2009

"Chem-Bio Weapon Threat: Do Not Exaggerate Capabilities of Nonstate Actors," Defense News, July 6, 2009

“The New Threat of Unconventional Warfare,” Joint Forces Quarterly, 4th Quarter 2008

“There Is No ‘E’ in Combating WMD,” U.S. Army's Combating WMD Journal, Issue 2, 2008

“Responding to Bioterrorism: Are We On Course?” Praeger Security International, December 2007

“The Chemical Weapons Convention – Ten Years Later,” Praeger Security International, March 2007

“The Future of CBRN Defense,” Joint Forces Quarterly, 1st Quarter 2007

“The Chemical Corps’ Expanding Roles,” Army Chemical Review, January 2006

Published Articles - 2001-2005

2009-03-23T05:02:00.000-07:00

“Birth of the U.S. Army Chemical Corps,” Relevance: The Quarterly Journal of the Great War Society, Autumn 2005

"CBRN Defense of US Military Installations and Facilities," NBC Report, Spring/Summer 2005 (short version)

"CBRN Defense of US Military Installations and Facilities," unpublished manuscript submitted to the Strategic Studies Institute, August 2005 (long version)

“A Tribute to Major General John J. Hayes,” Army Chemical Review, October 2004

“The Changing Face of Biological Warfare Defense,” Army Chemical Review, April 2004

“The US Army Chemical Corps – Past, Present, and Future,” On Point, Army Historical Foundation, March 2004

“Weapons of Mass Delusion,” Armed Forces Journal International, March 2004

“Responding to Terrorism,” Army Chemical Review, February 2002

“How the Chemical Corps Addresses Hazardous Materials,” Army Chemical Review, February 2002

“Deadly Void: Looking for Leadership in the DOD Chemical-Biological Defense Program," Armed Forces Journal International, December 2001

“Reflections on Khamisiyah,” Army Chemical Review, August 2001

“Pentagon Unfairly Criticized in Chem-Bio Defense Effort,” National Defense, June 2001

Published Articles - 1995-2000

2009-03-23T04:03:00.000-07:00

"A Rebuttal to Ataxia,” Journal for Homeland Defense, December 2000

“A Cure Worse Than the Disease?” Armed Forces Journal International, July 1999

“CWC: End or Beginning of Work for the Chemical Corps?” Army Chemical Review, July 1998

“Smoke Operations for the 21st Century,” Institute of Land Warfare, AUSA, October 1997

“NBC Defense Operations – Training the Combat Arms Leaders,” Army Chemical Review, July 1997

“The Great Fox Hunt – Parts I & II,” Army Chemical Review, July 1996 & January 1997

“NBC Defense Sector – Preparing for Force XXI,” Army Chemical Review, January 1996

“Joint Service Material Programs Groups – Why They Haven’t Worked,” Army Chemical Review, July 1995