Countering WMD in the 2010 QDR

Abstract

Coming from the Center for the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction (CSWMD), I probably will not surprise you by talking about the WMD aspects of this year's Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR). Specifically, I will focus on its countering WMD aspects -- that is, how the Department of Defense (DoD) thinks about and prepares to prevent, defend against, and mitigate the consequences of adversary use of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons. Early last year, the CSWMD assessed the U.S. Government's preparedness to prevent and manage major WMD events. We found that the government, including the Defense Department, had made considerable progress over the last decade in preparing to deal with discrete or small-scale WMD incidents, but that it lacked both the quantity of specialized assets and the quality of planning and coordination mechanisms to deal effectively with large-scale WMD contingencies. We also found a need to invest more in anticipating, understanding, and countering new and emerging forms of chemical and biological threats. I have assessed this year's QDR in part on how it addresses these shortcomings. I also have assessed it in relation to the 2006 QDR to identify areas of change and continuity across two different administrations. Overall, this year's QDR promises significant progress by the Defense Department in addressing those aforementioned shortcomings of quantity and quality, mainly with regard to WMD elimination and consequence management. But it does not discuss how to rectify broader planning and coordination issues across the Department and with the interagency community. It does accord more emphasis than its predecessor to nontraditional chemical threat agents, while it builds on earlier efforts to improve biodefense. Altogether, I found far more continuity than change between the 2010 and 2006 QDRs.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 11, 2010
Accession Number
ADA516913

Entities

People

  • John P. Caves Jr.

Organizations

  • National Defense University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Arms Control
  • Command And Control
  • Department Of Defense
  • Interagency Coordination
  • International Security
  • Military Science
  • National Security
  • Nuclear Forensics
  • Nuclear Weapons
  • Security
  • Task Forces
  • Training
  • Unified Combatant Commands
  • United States
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare
  • Weapons Of Mass Destruction

Readers

  • Critical Infrastructure Protection in CBRN and WMD Threats.
  • Defense Acquisition Program Management
  • Strategic Security Studies