Language:  British Columnist Deplores “Weapons of Mass Destruction”

A British newspaper columnist today called for the end of the use of the term “weapons of mass destruction” (see GSN, Jan. 7).

“May I implore our leaders, and the journalists who cover these matters, to give the glib WMD phrase a long, long holiday? It’s overused, overwrought and, worst of all, over here,” London Times columnist Richard Morrison wrote.  “Surely it isn’t beyond the combined wit of the geniuses in the White House and 10 Downing Street to think up a fresher cliche that disguises their real intentions just as effectively,” he added.

The phrase “weapons of mass destruction” was used 2,000 times during White House press briefings last year, Morrison wrote, citing a U.S. academic.  While the phrase was chosen by the American Dialect Society as “word of the year” for 2002, it also leads a list of phrases compiled by Lake Superior State University in Michigan that should cease to be used because of “misuse, overuse and general uselessness,” he added.

The expanding use of the phrase “weapons of mass destruction” might have a more sinister purpose, Morrison wrote.  Noting that most military experts only cite nuclear weapons as a true “weapon of mass destruction,” he suggested that the expansion of the term’s definition might be done to gain support for military action against Iraq.

“Like all the best political euphemisms, it is vague enough to cover anything that the speaker wishes it to mean at any time in the future,” Morrison wrote.  “Chemical and biological weapons may be vile, but they don’t destroy whole cities and their populations.  Yet by including them in the catchall WMD phrase, our leaders are much more likely to find a reason to go to war,” he said (Richard Morrison, London Times, Jan. 24).

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CD:  Ambassadors Seek to Break Five-Year U.N. Deadlock

Five former presidents of the U.N. Conference on Disarmament yesterday presented a program of work aimed at ending a five-year stalemate over such thorny issues as the prevention of an arms race in outer space and nuclear disarmament (see GSN, Jan. 22).

The “five ambassadors” are calling for ad hoc committees to be set up on four sticking issues:  guarantees not to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear states, nuclear disarmament, a ban on production of weapon-grade fissile materials and prevention of an arms race in space.  They are also proposing the appointment of three special coordinators to oversee work on the subjects of new types of weapons of mass destruction, a comprehensive disarmament program and transparency in armaments.

Belgian Ambassador Jean Lint introduced the plan on behalf of himself and the delegates from Algeria, Chile, Colombia and Sweden, all of whom have led the conference in the past.

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan welcomed “any proposals aimed at fostering consensus on the program of work” in a message delivered Tuesday by U.N. Geneva Director General Sergei Ordzhonikidze.  “These efforts,” he said, “have given rise to new hopes for dealing with the issues of nuclear disarmament and the prevention of an arms race in outer space” (U.N. release, Jan. 23).

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CD: Annan Urges End to Four-Year Impasse

The Conference on Disarmament opened its 25th session yesterday, with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan urging the conference’s 66 member countries to adapt to the current political climate and shake off the paralysis that has seized the conference since 1998 (see GSN, Sept. 13, 2002).

“For years,” Annan said in a message read by conference Secretary General Sergei Ordzhonikidze, “the protracted lack of agreement on a program of work has blocked the substantive work of the conference on all issues on its agenda. ... It may be argued that this standstill is a reflection of broader problems in multilateral diplomacy.  Yet this is precisely why the conference must adapt itself to that environment and develop a capacity to address emerging challenges” (U.N. release I, Jan. 21).

In October, U.N. General Assembly Disarmament Committee members complained that recent actions by the United States, such as withdrawing from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, had undermined international disarmament agreements (see GSN, Oct. 8, 2002).  In light of such developments, the current conference president, Indian Ambassador Rakesh Sood, said yesterday that the problem facing the conference is a political one (U.N. release).

In his message, Annan emphasized that dangers from arms proliferation are as serious as ever.  “International peace and security continue to face profound challenges in the form of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery vehicles, rising military expenditures, the prospect of an arms race in outer space and the continual development of new weapons systems,” he said.  Annan expressed regret over North Korea’s withdrawal from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and urged the country to reconsider its decision.

Annan outlined the broader context of the effort to control international arms proliferation.  “New arms control and disarmament agreements are needed not only to enhance strategic stability in the world,” he said.  “They are also needed to halt and eventually reverse a disturbing increase in global military expenditures and to redirect such funds into much-needed development projects,” he said (U.N. release II, Jan. 21).

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