. A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a weapon which can kill large numbers of
human beings,
animals and
plants. The term covers several weapon types, including
nuclear,
biological,
chemical (NBC) and, increasingly,
radiological weapons. There is controversy over when the term was first used, either in 1937 (in reference to the
mass destruction of Guernica,
Spain, by aerial
bombardment) or in 1945 (with reference to nuclear weapons). Following the
atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and progressing through the
Cold War, the term came to refer more to non-
conventional weapons. The phrase entered widespread usage in relation to the
U.S.-led 2003 invasion of Iraq. Terms used in a military context include atomic, biological, and chemical warfare (ABC warfare), nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) after the invention of the
hydrogen bomb, and
chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN), recognizing the threat of
subcritical radiological weapons.
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