Chemical Reaction

ONE of the less-noticed legacies of Saddam Hussein is now being considered by the Senate: the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), a 1993 treaty that would prohibit possession of chemical weapons. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee supported ratification, with half of the Republican members voting in favor.

Chemical weapons pose a serious threat. They can be manufactured easily and stored without detection. Their production is not a high-technology enterprise: a factory or laboratory that makes fertilizer, pharmaceuticals, or plastics can readily be adapted for the purpose. As a result of widespread recent advances in bio-technology, toxic agents can be produced by means that provide little or no intelligence “signature” at all.

About the Author

Douglas J. Feith

Douglas J. Feith is a senior fellow at Hudson Institute and served in the George W. Bush administration as undersecretary of defense for policy.

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ONE of the less-noticed legacies of Saddam Hussein is now being considered by the Senate: the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), a 1993 treaty that would prohibit possession of chemical weapons. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee supported ratification, with half of the Republican members voting in favor.

Chemical weapons pose a serious threat. They can be manufactured easily and stored without detection. Their production is not a high-technology enterprise: a factory or laboratory that makes fertilizer, pharmaceuticals, or plastics can readily be adapted for the purpose. As a result of widespread recent advances in bio-technology, toxic agents can be produced by means that provide little or no intelligence “signature” at all.