Unwelcome Future: Updating United States Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Strategy Regarding Emerging Technology.

摘要

This thesis reviews the United States Government strategy to counter proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). The U.S. strategy to deny adversary WMD capability includes support to international barriers to proliferation, export controls on technology, and reducing threat capabilities. It expresses concern that the U.S. national strategy is too broad and lacks focus for departments and agencies. The paper identifies barriers to proliferation in the strategy that may not prevent future procurement or use of WMD by actors who threaten the United States or their interests. Budget issues are shown to amplify the need to prioritize U.S. efforts to counter WMD use by threat actors. Evidence is presented to show that improved access to technology and decreased barriers to use makes it more likely that a state or non-state actor will seek to use a WMD against the United States. Use of a WMD could have significant impact on U.S. leadership decision space and influence U.S. actions abroad.