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104-687: A weapon of mass destruction ( WMD ) is a biological , chemical , radiological , nuclear , or any other weapon that can kill or significantly harm many people or cause great damage to artificial structures (e.g., buildings), natural structures (e.g., mountains), or the biosphere . The scope and usage of the term has evolved and been disputed, often signifying more politically than technically. Originally coined in reference to aerial bombing with chemical explosives during World War II , it has later come to refer to large-scale weaponry of warfare -related technologies, such as biological , chemical , radiological , or nuclear warfare . The first use of

208-407: A propellant charge of more than four ounces [113 g], missile having an explosive or incendiary charge of more than one-quarter ounce [7 g], or mine or device similar to the above. (2) Poison gas. (3) Any weapon involving a disease organism. (4) Any weapon that is designed to release radiation at a level dangerous to human life. For the general purposes of national defense, the U.S. Code defines

312-661: A bi-national Fulbright Commission administers and oversees the Fulbright Program. In countries without a Fulbright Commission but that have an active program, the Public Affairs Section of the US Embassy oversees the Fulbright Program. More than 360,000 persons have participated in the program since it began. Fifty-four Fulbright alumni have won Nobel Prizes ; eighty-two have won Pulitzer Prizes . The National Security Language Initiative (NSLI-Y)

416-642: A card that trumps all forms of aggression"). In its criminal complaint against the main suspect of the Boston Marathon bombing of 15 April 2013, the FBI refers to a pressure-cooker improvised bomb as a "weapon of mass destruction." There have been calls to classify at least some classes of cyber weapons as WMD, in particular those aimed to bring about large-scale (physical) destruction, such as by targeting critical infrastructure . However, some scholars have objected to classifying cyber weapons as WMD on

520-610: A chemical weapons stockpile in 2009 which U.N. personnel had secured after the 1991 Gulf War. The stockpile contained mainly chemical precursors, but some munitions remained usable. Because of its prolific use and (worldwide) public profile during this period, the American Dialect Society voted "weapons of mass destruction" (and its abbreviation, "WMD") the word of the year in 2002, and in 2003 Lake Superior State University added WMD to its list of terms banished for "Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness" (and "as

624-621: A civilian workforce, and normally uses the Foreign Service personnel system for positions that require service abroad. Employees may be assigned to diplomatic missions abroad to represent the United States, analyze and report on political, economic, and social trends; adjudicate visas; and respond to the needs of US citizens abroad. The US maintains diplomatic relations with about 180 countries and maintains relations with many international organizations, adding up to 273 posts around

728-558: A curriculum vitae, a statement of interest and a written essay. Opportunity is provided to upload letters of recommendations and nominations to support one's application. The Franklin Fellows Program was established in 2006 by the DoS to bring in mid-level executives from the private sector and non-profit organizations to advise the department and to work on projects. Fellows may also work with other government entities, including

832-401: A fission chain reaction also known as an atomic explosion. Nuclear fusion is essentially the opposite of fission. It is the fusing together of nuclei, not the splitting of it. When exposed to extreme pressure and temperature, some lightweight nuclei can fuse together and form heavier nuclei, releasing energy in the process. Fusion weapons (also known as “thermonuclear” or “hydrogen” weapons) use

936-631: A list of bio-agents designated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or the U.S. Department of Agriculture that have the "potential to pose a severe threat to public health and safety" to be officially defined as " select agents " and possession or transportation of them are tightly controlled as such. Select agents are divided into "HHS select agents and toxins", "USDA select agents and toxins" and "Overlap select agents and toxins". The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) breaks biological agents into three categories: Category A, Category B, and Category C . Category A agents pose

1040-465: A maximum fine of $ 250,000. The Washington Post reported on 30 March 2006: "Jurors asked the judge in the death penalty trial of Zacarias Moussaoui today to define the term 'weapons of mass destruction' and were told it includes airplanes used as missiles". Moussaoui was indicted and tried for conspiracy to both destroy aircraft and use weapons of mass destruction, among others. The surviving Boston Marathon bombing perpetrator, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev ,

1144-582: A merit-based system of promotions. The Rogers Act also created the Board of the Foreign Service, which advises the Secretary of State on managing the Foreign Service, and the Board of Examiners of the Foreign Service, which administers the examination process. The post-Second World War period saw an unprecedented increase in funding and staff commensurate with the US's emergence as a superpower and its competition with

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1248-839: A nuclear weapon in war is the United States , which dropped two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. At the start of 2023, nine states—the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK, or North Korea) and Israel—together possessed approximately 12 512 nuclear weapons, of which 9576 were considered to be potentially operationally available. An estimated 3844 of these warheads were deployed with operational forces, including about 2000 that were kept in

1352-438: A potential danger in a wide variety of occupational settings. The 1972 Biological Weapons Convention is an international treaty banning the development, use or stockpiling of biological weapons; as of March 2021, there were 183 states parties to the treaty. Bio-agents are, however, widely studied for both defensive and medical research purposes under various biosafety levels and within biocontainment facilities throughout

1456-478: A single person responsible for that duty. A mail division was established in 1872 and the office of Keeper of Rolls was made independent of the Chief Clerk's Bureau in 1873. Congress legally recognized the bureau system and provided official salaries for some bureau positions in 1873. Following Congressional recognition, several acts of Congress modified the structure of the bureaus between 1874 and 1882. At

1560-509: A speech at Rice University on 12 September 1962, President John F. Kennedy spoke of not filling space "with weapons of mass destruction, but with instruments of knowledge and understanding." The following month, during a televised presentation about the Cuban Missile Crisis on 22 October 1962, Kennedy made reference to "offensive weapons of sudden mass destruction." An early use of the exact phrase in an international treaty

1664-739: A speech at the United Nations probably written by Herbert Bayard Swope ). The phrase found its way into the very first resolution the United Nations General assembly adopted in January 1946 in London, which used the wording "the elimination from national armaments of atomic weapons and of all other weapons adaptable to mass destruction." The resolution also created the Atomic Energy Commission (predecessor of

1768-406: A state of high operational alert—the same number as the previous year. Biological agent Some biological agents have the ability to adversely affect human health in a variety of ways, ranging from relatively mild allergic reactions to serious medical conditions, including serious injury, as well as serious or permanent disability or even death . Many of these organisms are ubiquitous in

1872-445: A weapon of mass destruction as: For the purposes of the prevention of weapons proliferation , the U.S. Code defines weapons of mass destruction as "chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons, and chemical, biological, and nuclear materials used in the manufacture of such weapons". For the purposes of U.S. criminal law concerning terrorism, weapons of mass destruction are defined as: The Federal Bureau of Investigation 's definition

1976-426: A weapon of mass destruction". He prefers to call chemical and biological weapons "weapons of terror" when aimed against civilians and "weapons of intimidation" for soldiers. Testimony of one such soldier expresses the same viewpoint. For a period of several months in the winter of 2002–2003, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz frequently used the term "weapons of mass terror", apparently also recognizing

2080-525: Is a US Department of State ECA competitive merit-based scholarship to develop the foreign language skills of American high school students in eight critical-need languages. Korean , Mandarin , Russian , Arabic , Hindi , Bahasa Indonesian , Tajiki , and Turkish are all taught in summer and academic year programs abroad, as well as in online classes. NSLI-Y is the most prestigious foreign language program available to American high schoolers and has nearly 9,200 alumni. The Jefferson Science Fellows Program

2184-401: Is governed by several international conventions and treaties . Nuclear weapons use the energy inside of an atom's nucleus to create massive explosions. This goal is achieved through nuclear fission and fusion. Nuclear fission is when the nucleus of an atom is split into smaller nuclei. This process can be induced by shooting a neutron at the nucleus of an atom. When the neutron is absorbed by

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2288-488: Is in the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, but the treaty provides no definition of the phrase, and the treaty also categorically prohibits the stationing of "weapons" and the testing of "any type of weapon" in outer space, in addition to its specific prohibition against placing in orbit, or installing on celestial bodies, "any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction." During

2392-512: Is managed by a senior official. The senior official in most bureaus is an Assistant Secretary of State , with some senior officials having other titles such as Director or Ambassador-at-Large . The final tier of senior leadership below Assistant Secretary is Deputy Assistant Secretary, of which there are several dozen. Staff below the Deputy Assistant Secretary rank are generally considered "working level." Officials from

2496-614: Is similar to that presented above from the terrorism statute: Indictments and convictions for possession and use of WMD such as truck bombs, pipe bombs , shoe bombs, and cactus needles coated with a biological toxin have been obtained under 18 USC 2332a. As defined by 18 USC §2332 (a), a Weapon of Mass Destruction is: Under the same statute, conspiring, attempting, threatening, or using a Weapon of Mass Destruction may be imprisoned for any term of years or for life, and if resulting in death, be punishable by death or by imprisonment for any terms of years or for life. They can also be asked to pay

2600-533: Is thus sometimes used as a metonym . Established in 1789 as the first administrative arm of the U.S. executive branch , the State Department is considered among the most powerful and prestigious executive agencies. It is headed by the U.S. secretary of state , who reports directly to the U.S. president and is a member of the Cabinet . Analogous to a foreign minister , the secretary of state serves as

2704-608: The Cold War , the term "weapons of mass destruction" was primarily a reference to nuclear weapons. At the time, in the West the euphemism " strategic weapons " was used to refer to the American nuclear arsenal. However, there is no precise definition of the "strategic" category, neither considering range nor yield of the nuclear weapon . Subsequent to Operation Opera , the destruction of a pre-operational nuclear reactor inside Iraq by

2808-532: The Cold War , the term came to refer more to non- conventional weapons . The application of the term to specifically nuclear and radiological weapons is traced by William Safire to the Russian phrase "Оружие массового поражения" – oruzhiye massovogo porazheniya (weapon of mass destruction). William Safire credits James Goodby (of the Brookings Institution ) with tracing what he considers

2912-620: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)). An exact use of this term was given in a lecture titled " Atomic Energy as a Contemporary Problem" by J. Robert Oppenheimer . He delivered the lecture to the Foreign Service and the State Department , on 17 September 1947. It is a very far reaching control which would eliminate the rivalry between nations in this field, which would prevent

3016-530: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China . It also manages the U.S. Foreign Service , provides diplomatic training to U.S. officials and military personnel, exercises partial jurisdiction over immigration , and provides various services to Americans, such as issuing passports and visas , posting foreign travel advisories, and advancing commercial ties abroad. The department administers

3120-694: The State, War, and Navy Building in 1875. Since May 1947, the State Department has been based in the Harry S. Truman Building , which originally was intended to house the Department of Defense; it has since undergone several expansions and renovations, most recently in 2016. Previously known as the "Main State Building" , in September 2000 it was renamed in honor of President Harry S. Truman , who

3224-852: The Treasury Building and then the Seven Buildings at 19th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. The State Department moved several times throughout the capital in the ensuing decades, including six buildings in September 1800; the War Office Building west of the White House the following May; the Treasury Building once more from September 1819 to November 1866; the Washington City Orphan Home from November 1866 to July 1875; and

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3328-420: The U.S. President , the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency , the U.S. Department of Defense , and the U.S. Government Accountability Office . Other documents expand the definition of WMD to also include radiological or conventional weapons . The U.S. military refers to WMD as: Chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear weapons capable of a high order of destruction or causing mass casualties and exclude

3432-523: The census . President Washington signed the new legislation on September 15. Most of these domestic duties gradually were transferred to various federal departments and agencies established in the 19th century. However, the secretary of state still retains a few domestic responsibilities, such as serving as keeper of the Great Seal and being the officer to whom a president or vice president wishing to resign must deliver an instrument in writing declaring

3536-630: The ministry of foreign affairs of other nations, its primary duties are advising the U.S. president on international relations, administering diplomatic missions , negotiating international treaties and agreements, and representing the U.S. at the United Nations . The department is headquartered in the Harry S Truman Building , a few blocks from the White House , in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, D.C. ; "Foggy Bottom"

3640-425: The natural environment where they are found in water, soil, plants, or animals. Bio-agents may be amenable to "weaponization" to render them easier to deploy or disseminate. Genetic modification may enhance their incapacitating or lethal properties, or render them impervious to conventional treatments or preventives. Since many bio-agents reproduce rapidly and require minimal resources for propagation, they are also

3744-428: The 1990 invasion of Kuwait and 1991 Gulf War , Iraq's nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons programs became a particular concern of the first Bush Administration . Following the war, Bill Clinton and other western politicians and media continued to use the term, usually in reference to ongoing attempts to dismantle Iraq's weapons programs . After the 11 September 2001 attacks and the 2001 anthrax attacks in

3848-706: The 1996 reorganization, the Administrator of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), while leading an independent agency, also reports to the secretary of state, as does the US ambassador to the United Nations . From 1790 to 1800, the State Department was headquartered in Philadelphia , the national capital at the time. It occupied a building at Church and Fifth Street. In 1800, it moved from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C., where it briefly occupied

3952-707: The 2015–16 cycle, 17% and 24% of American applicants were successful in securing research and English Teaching Assistance grants, respectively. However, selectivity and application numbers vary substantially by country and by type of grant. For example, grants were awarded to 30% of Americans applying to teach English in Laos and 50% of applicants to do research in Laos. In contrast, 6% of applicants applying to teach English in Belgium were successful compared to 16% of applicants to do research in Belgium. The US Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs sponsors

4056-580: The Committee of Correspondence that was used by the colony of Massachusetts to communicate with the other colonies. The Committee of Secret Correspondence was renamed the Committee of Foreign Affairs in 1777. In 1781, the Department of Foreign Affairs was established as a permanent body to replace the Committee of Foreign Affairs, and the office of secretary of foreign affairs was established to lead

4160-933: The Congress , White House , and executive branch agencies, including the Department of Defense , Department of Commerce , and Department of Homeland Security . The program is named in honor of Benjamin Franklin , and aims to attract mid-career professionals to enrich and expand the department's capabilities. Unlike the Jefferson Science Fellows Program, a Franklin Fellowship is a year-long volunteer position for which one may obtain sponsor support or participate out of personal resources. Participation areas assigned to Franklin Fellows are determined by several factors, including issues of priority to

4264-738: The Consular Bureau; the Home Bureau; and the Keeper of the Archives, Translator, and Disbursing Agent. The office of Commissioner of Patents was created in 1836. In 1842, the Department of State was required to report to Congress on foreign commercial systems, and a clerk within the department was assigned the responsibility of arranging this information. This position was established as the Superintendent of Statistics in 1854 and

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4368-405: The Department of State was the fourth most desired employer for undergraduates according to BusinessWeek . From 2009 to 2017, the State Department launched 21st Century Statecraft, with the official goal of "complementing traditional foreign policy tools with newly innovated and adapted instruments of statecraft that fully leverage the technologies of our interconnected world." The initiative

4472-473: The Department of State/USAID, to help with its daily operations. The program is applied for, follows a process starting in August, and takes about a year to learn a candidate's ranking results. Awards are not solely achievement based, but intelligence and writing skills should support one's suitability for the position as the committee determines. A candidate applies for the program online, which entails submitting

4576-752: The Diplomatic Bureau; the Consular Bureau; the Home Bureau; the Bureau of Archives, Laws, and Commissions; the Bureau of Pardons and Remissions, Copyrights, and the Care of the Library; the Disbursing and Superintending Bureau; and the Translating and Miscellaneous Bureau. His successor John Forsyth reduced this number to just four the following year, overseen by a chief clerk: the Diplomatic Bureau;

4680-509: The Executive Branch, the Department of State is the lead US foreign affairs agency, and its head, the secretary of state, is the president's principal foreign policy advisor. The department advances US objectives and interests in the world through its primary role in developing and implementing the president's foreign policy. It also provides an array of important services to US citizens and to foreigners seeking to visit or immigrate to

4784-550: The Fulbright Program from an annual appropriation from the U.S. Congress . Additional direct and in-kind support comes from partner governments, foundations, corporations, and host institutions both in and outside the US The Fulbright Program is administered by cooperating organizations like the Institute of International Education . It operates in over 160 countries around the world. In each of 49 countries,

4888-566: The Fulbright Program, competitively selected US citizens may become eligible for scholarships to study, conduct research, or exercise their talents abroad; and citizens of other countries may qualify to do the same in the United States. The program was established to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other countries through the exchange of persons, knowledge, and skills. The Fulbright Program provides 8,000 grants annually to undertake graduate study, advanced research, university lecturing, and classroom teaching. In

4992-501: The Geneva Protocol, several countries made reservations regarding its applicability and use in retaliation. Due to these reservations, it was in practice a " no-first-use " agreement only. The 1972 Biological Weapons Convention supplements the Geneva Protocol by prohibiting the development, production, acquisition, transfer, stockpiling and use of biological weapons. Having entered into force on 26 March 1975, this agreement

5096-616: The Israeli Air Force in 1981, the Israeli prime minister, Menachem Begin , countered criticism by saying that "on no account shall we permit an enemy to develop weapons of mass destruction against the people of Israel." This policy of pre-emptive action against real or perceived weapons of mass destruction became known as the Begin Doctrine . The term "weapons of mass destruction" continued to see periodic use, usually in

5200-661: The Secretary through the Assistant Secretaries are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. Under the Obama administration, the website of the Department of State had indicated that the State Department's 75,547 employees included 13,855 foreign service officers; 49,734 locally employed staff, whose duties are primarily serving overseas; and 10,171 predominantly domestic civil service employees. Since

5304-767: The Soviet Union in the subsequent Cold War. Consequently, the number of domestic and overseas employees grew from roughly 2,000 in 1940 to over 13,000 in 1960. In accordance with the 1984 Act to Combat International Terrorism, the U.S. State Department established the Rewards for Justice program . The Rewards For Justice program offered money as an incentive for information leading to the arrest of leaders of terrorist groups, financiers of terrorism, including any individual that abide in plotting terror attacks by cooperating with extremist groups. The Rewards For Justice program offered money as an incentive for information leading to

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5408-588: The State Department spending time in the United States and interacting with their American colleagues, leadership and counterparts. Notable alumni of Professional Fellows include Edmond Fernandes , Anoka Abeyratne . The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program , is a program of competitive, merit-based grants for international educational exchange for students, scholars, teachers, professionals, scientists and artists, founded by United States Senator J. William Fulbright in 1946. Under

5512-470: The Statistical Office was created within the department. In 1853, the office of Assistant Secretary of State was created to oversee the heads of each bureau. A Commissioner of Immigration existed between 1864 and 1868. An Examiner of Claims was established in 1868 to address claims by American citizens against foreign nations, but it was abolished in 1868 and then reestablished in 1870 under

5616-653: The United Kingdom's Butler Review recognized the "considerable and long-standing academic debate about the proper interpretation of the phrase 'weapons of mass destruction ' ". The committee set out to avoid the general term but when using it, employed the definition of United Nations Security Council Resolution 687 , which defined the systems which Iraq was required to abandon: Chemical weapons expert Gert G. Harigel considers only nuclear weapons true weapons of mass destruction, because "only nuclear weapons are completely indiscriminate by their explosive power, heat radiation and radioactivity, and only they should therefore be called

5720-608: The United States, an increased fear of nonconventional weapons and asymmetric warfare took hold in many countries. The fear reached a crescendo with the 2002 Iraq disarmament crisis and the alleged existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq that became the primary justification for the 2003 invasion of Iraq ; however, American forces found none in Iraq. They found old stockpiles of chemical munitions including sarin and mustard agents , but all were considered to be unusable because of corrosion or degradation. Iraq, however, declared

5824-449: The United States. All foreign affairs activities—US representation abroad, foreign assistance programs, countering international crime, foreign military training programs, the services the department provides, and more—are paid for out of the foreign affairs budget, which represents little more than 1% of the total federal budget. The department's core activities and purpose include: The Department of State conducts these activities with

5928-580: The absence of any formal verification regime to monitor compliance. In 1985, the Australia Group was established, a multilateral export control regime of 43 countries aiming to prevent the proliferation of chemical and biological weapons. In 2004, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1540 , which obligates all UN Member States to develop and enforce appropriate legal and regulatory measures against

6032-578: The age range of 18 to 35 years old from the 10 member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Timor Leste . YSEALI's programs include competitive exchange fellowship programs to the United States , virtual and on-ground workshops within Southeast Asia , and seed grant funding opportunities. The programs fall under the key core themes of civic engagement , sustainable development , economic development , governance , and

6136-485: The arrest of leaders of terrorist groups , financiers of terrorism, including any individual that abide in plotting terror attacks by cooperating with extremist groups . In 1997, Madeleine Albright became the first woman appointed Secretary of State and the first foreign-born woman to serve in the Cabinet. The 3rd millennium saw the department reinvent itself in response to the rapid digitization of society and

6240-411: The atom, it becomes unstable, causing it to split and release energy. Modern nuclear weapons start this process by detonating chemical explosives around a pit of either uranium-235 or plutonium-239 metal. The force from this detonation is directed inwards, causing the pit of uranium or plutonium to compress to a dense point. Once the uranium/plutonium is dense enough, neutrons are then injected. This starts

6344-538: The bureau was replaced by an office to facilitate the transfer of information between consular offices and the new department. The Passport Bureau was restored the same year, and its name was changed to the Bureau of Citizenship in 1907. The department underwent a major reform in 1909 when Congress expanded its funding. Separate divisions were established within the Department for Latin American Affairs, Far Eastern Affairs, Near Eastern Affairs, Western European Affairs, and Information. An additional Division of Mexican Affairs

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6448-417: The context of nuclear arms control ; Ronald Reagan used it during the 1986 Reykjavík Summit , when referring to the 1967 Outer Space Treaty . Reagan's successor, George H. W. Bush , used the term in a 1989 speech to the United Nations, primarily in reference to chemical arms. The end of the Cold War reduced U.S. reliance on nuclear weapons as a deterrent, causing it to shift its focus to disarmament. With

6552-506: The country as well as a candidate's degree of career seniority and personal interests. See also Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative The Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) (pronounced / w aɪ s iː ˈ l iː / ) is a program of the DoS for emerging leaders from Southeast Asia . The program was launched by President Barack Obama in Manila in December 2013 as a way to strengthen leadership development, networking, and cultural exchange among emerging leaders within

6656-426: The decision. Reflecting the fledgling status of the US at the time, the Department of State under Secretary Jefferson comprised only six personnel, two diplomatic posts (in London and Paris), and 10 consular posts. When Jefferson took charge of the department, one clerk oversaw The Foreign Office and another oversaw the Home Office. Congress authorized the department hire a chief clerk for each office in June 1790, but

6760-412: The department the first federal agency to be created under the new Constitution. This legislation remains the basic law of the Department of State. In September 1789, additional legislation changed the name of the agency to the Department of State and assigned it a variety of domestic duties, including managing the United States Mint , keeping the Great Seal of the United States , and administering

6864-425: The department. The U.S. Constitution , drafted September 1787 and ratified the following year, gave the president responsibility for conducting the federal government's affairs with foreign states. To that end, on July 21, 1789, the First Congress approved legislation to reestablish the Department of Foreign Affairs under the new government, which President George Washington signed into law on July 27, making

6968-433: The departments of Defense, Treasury, and Commerce. The department also consults with Congress about foreign policy initiatives and policies. The most senior official in the Department is the Secretary of State. The Secretary is the chief executive officer of the Department of State and a member of the Cabinet who answers directly to, and advises, the president of the United States . The Secretary organizes and supervises

7072-463: The distinction between the psychological and the physical effects of many things currently falling into the WMD category. Gustavo Bell Lemus , the Vice President of Colombia , at 9 July 2001 United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, quoted the Millennium Report of the UN Secretary-General to the General Assembly , in which Kofi Annan said that small arms could be described as WMD because

7176-422: The earliest known English-language use soon after the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (although it is not quite verbatim): a communique from a 15 November 1945, meeting of Harry Truman , Clement Attlee and Mackenzie King (probably drafted by Vannevar Bush , as Bush claimed in 1970) referred to "weapons adaptable to mass destruction." Safire says Bernard Baruch used that exact phrase in 1946 (in

7280-456: The efficiency of various dissemination techniques or the risks caused by the use of biological agents in bioterrorism . To simulate dispersal, attachment or the penetration depth in human or animal lungs, simulants must have particle sizes, specific weight and surface properties, similar to the simulated biological agent. The typical size of simulants (1–5 μm) enables it to enter buildings with closed windows and doors and penetrate deep into

7384-456: The end of the nineteenth century, the department consisted of the Chief Clerk's Bureau, the Diplomatic Bureau, the Consular Bureau, the Bureau of Accounts, the Bureau of Foreign Commerce, the Bureau of Appointments, and the Bureau of Archives. Other offices, such as that of translator, also operated separately from the bureau system. In 1903, the Bureau of Foreign Commerce was transferred to the newly created Department of Commerce and Labor , and

7488-505: The entire department and its staff. Immediately subordinate to the Secretary are the Deputy Secretary and the Deputy Secretary for Management and Resources , the second- and third-highest ranking officials in the department. Ranking below the two Deputy Secretaries are six Under Secretaries , who each oversee several bureaus and offices tasked with specific areas of policy and administration. Each bureau or office, in turn,

7592-474: The fatalities they cause "dwarf that of all other weapons systems – and in most years greatly exceed the toll of the atomic bombs that devastated Hiroshima and Nagasaki ". An additional condition often implicitly applied to WMD is that the use of the weapons must be strategic. In other words, they would be designed to "have consequences far outweighing the size and effectiveness of the weapons themselves". The strategic nature of WMD also defines their function in

7696-440: The federal government's chief diplomat and representative abroad, and is the first Cabinet official in the order of precedence and in the presidential line of succession . The position is currently held by Antony Blinken , who was appointed by President Joe Biden and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on January 26, 2021, by a vote of 78–22. As of 2024 , the State Department maintains 271 diplomatic posts worldwide, second only to

7800-618: The final months of World War I, the Bureau of Citizenship was split into the Division of Passport Control and the Visa Office. Other changes made during World War I include the conversion of the Division of Information into the Division of Foreign Intelligence in 1917 and the establishment of the Correspondence Bureau in 1918. The Division of Russian Affairs was established in 1919, and the Division of Political Information

7904-420: The financial means to sustain their work abroad. Combined with the common practice of appointing individuals based on politics or patronage, rather than merit, this led the department to largely favor those with political networks and wealth, rather than skill and knowledge. In 1833, Secretary of State Louis McLane oversaw a major restructure of the Department of State into a formal collection of seven bureaus:

8008-437: The fission process to initiate fusion. Fusion weapons use the energy released from a fission explosion to fuse hydrogen isotopes together. The energy released from these weapons creates a fireball, which reaches tens of million degrees. A temperature of this magnitude is similar to the temperature found at center of the sun, so it shouldn't be any surprise to learn that the sun runs on fusion as well. The only country to have used

8112-581: The global economy. In 2007, it launched an official blog, Dipnote , as well as a Twitter account of the same name, to engage with a global audience. Internally, it launched a wiki , Diplopedia ; a suggestion forum called the Sounding Board ; and a professional networking software, "Corridor". In May 2009, the Virtual Student Federal Service (VSFS) was created to provide remote internships to students. The same year,

8216-523: The greatest threat to the US. Criteria for being a Category "A" agent include high rates of morbidity and mortality, ease of dissemination and communicability, ability to cause a public panic, and special action required by public health officials to respond. Category A agents include anthrax , botulism , plague , smallpox , and viral hemorrhagic fevers. Simulants are organisms or substances which mimic physical or biological properties of real biological agents, without being pathogenic. They are used to study

8320-468: The grounds that they "cannot [currently] directly injure or kill human beings as efficiently as guns or bombs" or clearly "meet the legal and historical definitions" of WMD. The most widely used definition of "weapons of mass destruction" is that of nuclear , biological , or chemical weapons (NBC) although there is no treaty or customary international law that contains an authoritative definition. Instead, international law has been used with respect to

8424-467: The lungs. This bears a significant health risk, even if the biological agent is normally not pathogenic. While the history of biological weapons use goes back more than six centuries to the siege of Caffa in 1346, international restrictions on biological weapons began only with the 1925 Geneva Protocol , which prohibits the use but not the possession or development of chemical and biological weapons in international armed conflicts. Upon ratification of

8528-567: The means of transporting or propelling the weapon where such means is a separable and divisible part from the weapon. Also called WMD. This may also refer to nuclear ICBMs (intercontinental ballistic missiles). The significance of the words separable and divisible part of the weapon is that missiles such as the Pershing II and the SCUD are considered weapons of mass destruction, while aircraft capable of carrying bombloads are not. In 2004,

8632-423: The military doctrine of total war as targeting the means a country would use to support and supply its war effort, specifically its population, industry, and natural resources. Within U.S. civil defense organizations, the category is now Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosive (CBRNE), which defines WMD as: (1) Any explosive , incendiary , poison gas , bomb, grenade , or rocket having

8736-655: The new weapons of mass destruction? At the time, nuclear weapons had not been developed fully. Japan conducted research on biological weapons (see Unit 731 ) , and chemical weapons had seen wide battlefield use in World War I . Their use was outlawed by the Geneva Protocol of 1925. Italy used mustard agent against civilians and soldiers in Ethiopia in 1935–36 . Following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that ended World War II and during

8840-652: The newly established Law Bureau. In 1870, Secretary of State Hamilton Fish reorganized the department into twelve bureaus: the Chief Clerk's Bureau, two Diplomatic Bureaus, two Consular Bureaus, the Law Bureau, the Bureau of Accounts, the Statistical Bureau, the Bureau of Translations, the Bureau of Pardons and Commissions, the Bureau of Domestic Records, and the Passport Bureau. The bureaus of law, translations, and domestic records each consisted of

8944-483: The offices were consolidated under a single clerk the following month. In 1793, responsibility over patents was transferred from the cabinet to the Department of State. The office of superintendent of patents was created to carry out this responsibility, but the office was not recognized by Congress until 1830. In the 19th century, the U.S. State Department was responsible for administering the consular services and Diplomatic Security Service (DSS). The Department of State

9048-649: The oldest U.S. civilian intelligence agency, the Bureau of Intelligence and Research , and maintains a law enforcement arm , the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS). The Articles of Confederation did not designate a separate executive branch of the government. Foreign affairs were delegated to the Committee of Secret Correspondence by the Congress of the Confederation in 1775, based on

9152-459: The proliferation of chemical , biological, radiological , and nuclear weapons and their means of delivery, in particular, to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction to non-state actors . State Department The United States Department of State ( DOS ), or simply the State Department , is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations . Equivalent to

9256-732: The renovation of the buildings on the 11.8 acres (4.8 ha) Navy Hill campus, which housed the World War II headquarters of the Office of Strategic Services and was the first headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency . In June 2022 the State Department launched a new transnational association , the Minerals Security Partnership . The Executive Branch and the Congress have constitutional responsibilities for US foreign policy. Within

9360-427: The same category as chemical and " dirty bomb " radiological weapons, which have limited destructive potential (and close to none, as far as property is concerned), whereas nuclear and biological weapons have the unique ability to kill large numbers of people with very small amounts of material, and thus could be said to belong in a class by themselves. The NBC definition has also been used in official U.S. documents, by

9464-480: The specific categories of weapons within WMD, and not to WMD as a whole. While nuclear, chemical and biological weapons are regarded as the three major types of WMDs, some analysts have argued that radiological materials as well as missile technology and delivery systems such as aircraft and ballistic missiles could be labeled as WMDs as well. However, there is an argument that nuclear and biological weapons do not belong in

9568-447: The surreptitious arming of one nation against another, which would provide some cushion of time before atomic attack, and presumably therefore before any attack with weapons of mass destruction, and which would go a long way toward removing atomic energy at least as a source of conflict between the powers. The term was also used in the introduction to the hugely influential U.S. government document known as NSC 68 written in 1950. During

9672-437: The term "weapon of mass destruction" on record is by Cosmo Gordon Lang , Archbishop of Canterbury , in 1937 in reference to the bombing of Guernica , Spain: Who can think at this present time without a sickening of the heart of the appalling slaughter, the suffering, the manifold misery brought by war to Spain and to China ? Who can think without horror of what another widespread war would mean, waged as it would be with all

9776-407: The world. The former US biological warfare program (1943–1969) categorized its weaponized anti-personnel bio-agents as either "lethal agents" ( Bacillus anthracis , Francisella tularensis , Botulinum toxin ) or "incapacitating agents" ( Brucella suis , Coxiella burnetii , Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus , staphylococcal enterotoxin B ). Since 1997, United States law has declared

9880-450: The world. In the United States, about 5,000 professional, technical, and administrative employees work compiling and analyzing reports from overseas, providing logistical support to posts, communicating with the American public, formulating and overseeing the budget, issuing passports and travel warnings , and more. In carrying out these responsibilities, the Department of State works in close coordination with other federal agencies, including

9984-530: Was a major proponent of internationalism and diplomacy. As the DOS is located in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, it is sometimes metonymically referred to as "Foggy Bottom". The US Department of State has in the recent years rolled out Professional Exchange Fellows who have risen to professional ranks in their lives and are chosen by the US Embassies worldwide to be a professional fellows of

10088-580: Was charged in June 2013 with the federal offense of "use of a weapon of mass destruction" after he and his brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev allegedly placed crude shrapnel bombs, made from pressure cookers packed with ball bearings and nails, near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. He was convicted in April 2015. The bombing resulted in three deaths and at least 264 injuries. The development and use of WMD

10192-417: Was composed of two primary administrative units: the diplomatic service, which staffed US legations and embassies, and the consular service, which was primarily responsible for promoting American commerce abroad and assisting distressed American sailors. Each service developed separately, but both lacked sufficient funding to provide for a career; consequently, appointments to either service fell on those with

10296-548: Was designed to utilize digital technology and the Internet to promote foreign policy goals; examples include promoting an SMS campaign to provide disaster relief to Pakistan, and sending DOS personnel to Libya to assist in developing Internet infrastructure and e-government. Colin Powell , who led the department from 2001 to 2005, became the first African-American to hold the post; his immediate successor, Condoleezza Rice ,

10400-631: Was established in 1915. The Bureau of Trade Relations was abolished in 1912 and replaced by an Office of Foreign Trade Advisers, and the Office of the Adviser on Commercial Treaties was split from this office in 1916. During World War I , the Bureau of Citizenship was tasked with vetting every person who entered or departed from the United States to ensure public safety. New branches of the Bureau of Citizenship were opened in New York and San Francisco. In

10504-487: Was established in 1920. The Department of State underwent its first major overhaul with the Rogers Act of 1924 , which merged the diplomatic and consular services into the Foreign Service , a professionalized personnel system under which the secretary of state is authorized to assign diplomats abroad. An extremely difficult Foreign Service examination was also implemented to ensure highly qualified recruits, along with

10608-450: Was established in 2003 by the DoS to establish a new model for engaging the American academic science, technology, engineering and medical communities in the formulation and implementation of US foreign policy. The Fellows (as they are called, if chosen for the program) are paid around $ 50,000 during the program and can earn special bonuses of up to $ 10,000. The program's intent is to equip Fellows with awareness of procedural intricacies of

10712-657: Was the second female secretary of state and the second African-American. Hillary Clinton became the third female secretary of state when she was appointed in 2009. In 2014, the State Department began expanding into the Navy Hill Complex across 23rd Street NW from the Truman Building. A joint venture consisting of the architectural firms of Goody, Clancy and the Louis Berger Group won a $ 2.5 million contract in January 2014 to begin planning

10816-512: Was the first multilateral disarmament treaty to ban the production of an entire category of weapons of mass destruction. As of March 2021, 183 states have become party to the treaty . The treaty is considered to have established a strong global norm against biological weapons, which is reflected in the treaty's preamble, stating that the use of biological weapons would be "repugnant to the conscience of mankind". However, its effectiveness has been limited due to insufficient institutional support and

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