How do we define "MASS DESTRUCTION" ? Can't conventional weapons (bombs) be used to cause mass destruction ?

the term came into common use after the gulf war. Iraq had to agree to not produce or obtain weapons of mass destruction in order to end the war. When Iraq agreed to this the war stopped. You can't tell a country not to have any weapons, (police need guns etc.) but as long as they couldn't produce wepons of mass destruction we wouldn't have to worry about something like what they did to kuwait happening again. It didn't matter if the US had weapons of mass destruction, the US won the war. The post-war treaty isn't negotiable, that's how wars work, the winners make the post-war treaty and the loser has to sign it or the fighting continues. If Iraq had won, I'm sure they would have done much more than just prevent us from producing WMDs.

mass destruction is how long it is still able to kill people. conventional is just a boom maybe some fire but chemical or atomic last for a bit beyond the boom

International politics is rarely about honesty. What really matters is who has power.

weapons of mass destruction Any weapon, nuclear, biological, or chemical, that can kill large numbers of people. There are three types of delivery system usually considered for WMD,ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and combat aircraft.

Yes, the US owns most of the weapons of mass destruction. The term evolved to describe weapons that kill by the hundreds or thousands in one shot. "Conventional" weapons are very limited in scope and can't cause that with one shot. When one nuke can wipe out a city, you have mass destruction. Which would you rather have, President Bush explaining to a bunch of pacifists that have no idea what the rest of the world is like why he is pursuing terrorists and countries that aid and supply them, or him explaining to the families of the citizens of say, New York City, why their loved ones are all dead by terrorists with a nuke?

The media I believe slipped up by mispronouncing the acronym WMD and therefore created this problem. The correct acronym is Weapons of Mass Distraction (WMD). Simple mistake but this has resulted in serious consequences.