The Banning of Chemical Weapons: Tantalus Revisited.

Abstract

Since the mid-nineteenth century, nations have sought to limit the use of chemical weapons with varying degrees of success. On-going negotiations in Geneva by the 40-member Committee on Disarmament seek the elaboration of an international convention banning the development, production, stockpiling and retention of chemical weapons. This essay traces some of the historical efforts made by various international fora to ban the use of chemical weapons and identifies the key issues that have precluded the realization of a satisfactory international convention. The current proposals by the United States and the USSR are analyzed, with particular attention given to the troubling issues of verification and compliance. Conclusions as the practicality and attainability of a chemical weapons ban are drawn. (Author)

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 14, 1983
Accession Number
ADA127792

Entities

People

  • F. M. Durel

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Agreements
  • Arms Control
  • Arms Control Treaties
  • Chemical Warfare
  • Chemical Warfare Agents
  • Chemical Weapons
  • Classification
  • Elements
  • International Relations
  • Negotiations
  • Nuclear Weapons
  • Security
  • Stockpiles
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Treaties
  • United States
  • War Colleges

Readers

  • Criminal Law
  • International Relations and Conflict Resolution
  • Systems Analysis and Design