NATIONAL S TRATEGY TO

C OMBAT WEAPONS

O F MASS

DESTRUCTION

D ECEMBER 2002
NATIONAL S TRATEGY TO

C OMBAT WEAPONS

O F M ASS

DESTRUCTION

D ECEMBER 2002
INTRODUCTION

Weapons of mass destruction (WMD)—

nuclear, biological, and chemical—in the possession of hostile states and terrorists represent one

of the greatest security challenges facing the

United States. We must pursue a comprehensive

strategy to counter this threat in all of its dimensions. 

An effective strategy for countering WMD,

including their use and further proliferation, is an

integral component of the National Security

Strategy of the United States of America. As with

the war on terrorism, our strategy for homeland

security, and our new concept of deterrence, the

U.S. approach to combat WMD represents a

fundamental change from the past. To succeed,

we must take full advantage of today’s opportunities, including the application of new

technologies, increased emphasis on intelligence

collection and analysis, the strengthening of

alliance relationships, and the establishment of

new partnerships with former adversaries. 

Weapons of mass destruction could enable

adversaries to inflict massive harm on the United 

States, our military forces at home and abroad,

and our friends and allies. Some states, including

several that have supported and continue to

support terrorism, already possess WMD and are

seeking even greater capabilities, as tools of coercion and intimidation. For them, these are not

weapons of last resort, but militarily useful

weapons of choice intended to overcome our

nation’s advantages in conventional forces and to

deter us from responding to aggression against

our friends and allies in regions of vital interest.

In addition, terrorist groups are seeking to

acquire WMD with the stated purpose of killing

large numbers of our people and those of friends

and allies—without compunction and without

warning. 

We will not permit the world’s most dangerous

regimes and terrorists to threaten us with the

world’s most destructive weapons. We must

accord the highest priority to the protection of

the United States, our forces, and our friends and

allies from the existing and growing WMD

threat. 

N ATIONAL S TRATEGY TO C OMBAT W EAPONS OF M ASS D ESTRUCTION

1

National Strategy to Combat 

Weapons of Mass Destruction

“The gravest danger our Nation faces lies at the crossroads of radicalism and 

technology. Our enemies have openly declared that they are seeking weapons of 

mass destruction, and evidence indicates that they are doing so with determination. 

The United States will not allow these efforts to succeed. ...History will judge 

harshly those who saw this coming danger but failed to act. In the new world 

we have entered, the only path to peace and security is the path of action.”

President Bush

The National Security Strategy of the United States of America

September 17, 2002
N ATIONAL S TRATEGY TO C OMBAT W EAPONS OF M ASS D ESTRUCTION

2

PILLARS OF OUR NATIONAL

STRATEGY 

Our National Strategy to Combat Weapons of

Mass Destruction has three principal pillars:

Counterproliferation to Combat WMD Use 

The possession and increased likelihood of use

of WMD by hostile states and terrorists are realities of the contemporary security environment.

It is therefore critical that the U.S. military and

appropriate civilian agencies be prepared to deter

and defend against the full range of possible

WMD employment scenarios. We will ensure

that all needed capabilities to combat WMD are

fully integrated into the emerging defense transformation plan and into our homeland security

posture. Counterproliferation will also be fully

integrated into the basic doctrine, training, and

equipping of all forces, in order to ensure that

they can sustain operations to decisively defeat

WMD-armed adversaries. 

Strengthened Nonproliferation to Combat 

WMD Proliferation 

The United States, our friends and allies, and

the broader international community must

undertake every effort to prevent states and

terrorists from acquiring WMD and missiles. We

must enhance traditional measures—diplomacy,

arms control, multilateral agreements, threat

reduction assistance, and export controls—that

seek to dissuade or impede proliferant states and

terrorist networks, as well as to slow and make

more costly their access to sensitive technologies,

material, and expertise. We must ensure compliance with relevant international agreements,

including the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty

(NPT), the Chemical Weapons Convention

(CWC), and the Biological Weapons Convention

(BWC). The United States will continue to work

with other states to improve their capability to

prevent unauthorized transfers of WMD and

missile technology, expertise, and material. We

will identify and pursue new methods of 

prevention, such as national criminalization of

proliferation activities and expanded safety and

security measures. 

Consequence Management to Respond to WMD Use 

Finally, the United States must be prepared to

respond to the use of WMD against our citizens,

our military forces, and those of friends and allies.

We will develop and maintain the capability to

reduce to the extent possible the potentially

horrific consequences of WMD attacks at home

and abroad. 

The three pillars of the U.S. national strategy

to combat WMD are seamless elements of a

comprehensive approach. Serving to integrate the

pillars are four cross-cutting enabling functions

that need to be pursued on a priority basis: intelligence collection and analysis on WMD, delivery

systems, and related technologies; research and

development to improve our ability to respond to

evolving threats; bilateral and multilateral cooperation; and targeted strategies against hostile

states and terrorists. 

COUNTERPROLIFERATION

We know from experience that we cannot

always be successful in preventing and containing

the proliferation of WMD to hostile states and

terrorists. Therefore, U.S. military and appropriate civilian agencies must possess the full range

of operational capabilities to counter the threat

and use of WMD by states and terrorists against

the United States, our military forces, and friends

and allies. 

Interdiction

Effective interdiction is a critical part of the U.S.

strategy to combat WMD and their delivery

means. We must enhance the capabilities of our

military, intelligence, technical, and law enforcement communities to prevent the movement of

WMD materials, technology, and expertise to

hostile states and terrorist organizations.
Deterrence

Today’s threats are far more diverse and less

predictable than those of the past. States hostile

to the United States and to our friends and allies

have demonstrated their willingness to take high

risks to achieve their goals, and are aggressively

pursuing WMD and their means of delivery as

critical tools in this effort. As a consequence, we

require new methods of deterrence. A strong

declaratory policy and effective military forces are

essential elements of our contemporary deterrent

posture, along with the full range of political tools

to persuade potential adversaries not to seek or

use WMD. The United States will continue to

make clear that it reserves the right to respond

with overwhelming force—including through

resort to all of our options—to the use of WMD

against the United States, our forces abroad, and

friends and allies. 

In addition to our conventional and nuclear

response and defense capabilities, our overall

deterrent posture against WMD threats is reinforced by effective intelligence, surveillance,

interdiction, and domestic law enforcement capabilities. Such combined capabilities enhance

deterrence both by devaluing an adversary’s

WMD and missiles, and by posing the prospect

of an overwhelming response to any use of such

weapons. 

Defense and Mitigation

Because deterrence may not succeed, and

because of the potentially devastating consequences of WMD use against our forces and

civilian population, U.S. military forces and

appropriate civilian agencies must have the capability to defend against WMD-armed adversaries,

including in appropriate cases through preemptive measures. This requires capabilities to detect

and destroy an adversary’s WMD assets before

these weapons are used. In addition, robust active

and passive defenses and mitigation measures

must be in place to enable U.S. military forces

and appropriate civilian agencies to accomplish

their missions, and to assist friends and allies

when WMD are used. 

Active defenses disrupt, disable, or destroy

WMD en route to their targets. Active defenses

include vigorous air defense and effective missile

defenses against today’s threats. Passive defenses

must be tailored to the unique characteristics of

the various forms of WMD. The United States

must also have the ability rapidly and effectively

to mitigate the effects of a WMD attack against

our deployed forces. 

Our approach to defend against biological

threats has long been based on our approach to

chemical threats, despite the fundamental differences between these weapons. The United States

is developing a new approach to provide us and

our friends and allies with an effective defense

against biological weapons. 

Finally, U.S. military forces and domestic law

enforcement agencies as appropriate must stand

ready to respond against the source of any WMD

attack. The primary objective of a response is to

disrupt an imminent attack or an attack in

progress, and eliminate the threat of future

attacks. As with deterrence and prevention, an

effective response requires rapid attribution and

robust strike capability. We must accelerate

efforts to field new capabilities to defeat WMDrelated assets. The United States needs to be

prepared to conduct post-conflict operations to

destroy or dismantle any residual WMD capabilities of the hostile state or terrorist network. An

effective U.S. response not only will eliminate the

source of a WMD attack but will also have a

powerful deterrent effect upon other adversaries

that possess or seek WMD or missiles. 

NONPROLIFERATION

Active Nonproliferation Diplomacy

The United States will actively employ diplomatic approaches in bilateral and multilateral

settings in pursuit of our nonproliferation goals.

N ATIONAL S TRATEGY TO C OMBAT W EAPONS OF M ASS D ESTRUCTION

3
We must dissuade supplier states from cooperating with proliferant states and induce

proliferant states to end their WMD and missile

programs. We will hold countries responsible for

complying with their commitments. In addition,

we will continue to build coalitions to support

our efforts, as well as to seek their increased

support for nonproliferation and threat reduction

cooperation programs. However, should our

wide-ranging nonproliferation efforts fail, we

must have available the full range of operational

capabilities necessary to defend against the

possible employment of WMD. 

Multilateral Regimes

Existing nonproliferation and arms control

regimes play an important role in our overall

strategy. The United States will support those

regimes that are currently in force, and work to

improve the effectiveness of, and compliance

with, those regimes. Consistent with other policy

priorities, we will also promote new agreements

and arrangements that serve our nonproliferation

goals. Overall, we seek to cultivate an international environment that is more conducive to

nonproliferation. Our efforts will include: 

• Nuclear

• Strengthening of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and International Atomic

Energy Agency (IAEA), including

through ratification of an IAEA

Additional Protocol by all NPT states

parties, assurances that all states put in

place full-scope IAEA safeguards agreements, and appropriate increases in

funding for the Agency;

• Negotiating a Fissile Material Cut-Off

Treaty that advances U.S. security interests; and

• Strengthening the Nuclear Suppliers

Group and Zangger Committee.

• Chemical and Biological

• Effective functioning of the Organization

for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons;

• Identification and promotion of

constructive and realistic measures to

strengthen the BWC and thereby to help

meet the biological weapons threat; and

• Strengthening of the Australia Group.

• Missile

• Strengthening the Missile Technology

Control Regime (MTCR), including

through support for universal adherence

to the International Code of Conduct

Against Ballistic Missile Proliferation. 

Nonproliferation and 

Threat Reduction Cooperation 

The United States pursues a wide range of

programs, including the Nunn-Lugar program,

designed to address the proliferation threat stemming from the large quantities of Soviet-legacy

WMD and missile-related expertise and materials.

Maintaining an extensive and efficient set of

nonproliferation and threat reduction assistance

programs to Russia and other former Soviet states

is a high priority. We will also continue to

encourage friends and allies to increase their

contributions to these programs, particularly

through the G-8 Global Partnership Against the

Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass

Destruction. In addition, we will work with other

states to improve the security of their WMDrelated materials. 

Controls on Nuclear Materials

In addition to programs with former Soviet

states to reduce fissile material and improve the

security of that which remains, the United States

will continue to discourage the worldwide accumulation of separated plutonium and to minimize

the use of highly-enriched uranium. As outlined

in the National Energy Policy, the United States

will work in collaboration with international partners to develop recycle and fuel treatment

N ATIONAL S TRATEGY TO C OMBAT W EAPONS OF M ASS D ESTRUCTION

4
technologies that are cleaner, more efficient, less

waste-intensive, and more proliferation-resistant. 

U.S. Export Controls

We must ensure that the implementation of

U.S. export controls furthers our nonproliferation and other national security goals, while

recognizing the realities that American businesses

face in the increasingly globalized marketplace. 

We will work to update and strengthen export

controls using existing authorities. We also seek

new legislation to improve the ability of our

export control system to give full weight to both

nonproliferation objectives and commercial

interests. Our overall goal is to focus our

resources on truly sensitive exports to hostile

states or those that engage in onward proliferation, while removing unnecessary barriers in the

global marketplace. 

Nonproliferation Sanctions

Sanctions can be a valuable component of our

overall strategy against WMD proliferation. At

times, however, sanctions have proven inflexible

and ineffective. We will develop a comprehensive

sanctions policy to better integrate sanctions into

our overall strategy and work with Congress to

consolidate and modify existing sanctions 

legislation. 

WMD CONSEQUENCE 

MANAGEMENT

Defending the American homeland is the

most basic responsibility of our government. As

part of our defense, the United States must be

fully prepared to respond to the consequences of

WMD use on our soil, whether by hostile states

or by terrorists. We must also be prepared to

respond to the effects of WMD use against our

forces deployed abroad, and to assist friends and

allies. 

The National Strategy for Homeland Security

discusses U.S. Government programs to deal with

the consequences of the use of a chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear weapon in the

United States. A number of these programs offer

training, planning, and assistance to state and

local governments. To maximize their effectiveness, these efforts need to be integrated and

comprehensive. Our first responders must have

the full range of protective, medical, and remediation tools to identify, assess, and respond rapidly

to a WMD event on our territory. 

The White House Office of Homeland

Security will coordinate all federal efforts to

prepare for and mitigate the consequences of

terrorist attacks within the United States,

including those involving WMD. The Office of

Homeland Security will also work closely with

state and local governments to ensure their planning, training, and equipment requirements are

addressed. These issues, including the roles of the

Department of Homeland Security, are addressed

in detail in the National Strategy for Homeland

Security. 

The National Security Council’s Office of

Combating Terrorism coordinates and helps

improve U.S. efforts to respond to and manage

the recovery from terrorist attacks outside the

United States. In cooperation with the Office of

Combating Terrorism, the Department of State

coordinates interagency efforts to work with our

friends and allies to develop their own emergency

preparedness and consequence management

capabilities. 

INTEGRATING THE PILLARS

Several critical enabling functions serve to 

integrate the three pillars—counterproliferation,

nonproliferation, and consequence management

—of the U.S. National Strategy to Combat WMD. 

Improved Intelligence Collection and Analysis

A more accurate and complete understanding

of the full range of WMD threats is, and will

remain, among the highest U.S. intelligence

priorities, to enable us to prevent proliferation,

N ATIONAL S TRATEGY TO C OMBAT W EAPONS OF M ASS D ESTRUCTION

5
and to deter or defend against those who would

use those capabilities against us. Improving our

ability to obtain timely and accurate knowledge

of adversaries’ offensive and defensive capabilities,

plans, and intentions is key to developing effective counter- and nonproliferation policies and

capabilities. Particular emphasis must be

accorded to improving: intelligence regarding

WMD-related facilities and activities; interaction

among U.S. intelligence, law enforcement, and

military agencies; and intelligence cooperation

with friends and allies. 

Research and Development 

The United States has a critical need for

cutting-edge technology that can quickly and

effectively detect, analyze, facilitate interdiction

of, defend against, defeat, and mitigate the consequences of WMD. Numerous U.S. Government

departments and agencies are currently engaged

in the essential research and development to

support our overall strategy against WMD proliferation. 

The new Counterproliferation Technology

Coordination Committee, consisting of senior

representatives from all concerned agencies, will

act to improve interagency coordination of U.S.

Government counterproliferation research and

development efforts. The Committee will assist

in identifying priorities, gaps, and overlaps in

existing programs and in examining options for

future investment strategies. 

Strengthened International Cooperation

WMD represent a threat not just to the

United States, but also to our friends and allies

and the broader international community. For

this reason, it is vital that we work closely with

like-minded countries on all elements of our

comprehensive proliferation strategy.

Targeted Strategies Against Proliferants

All elements of the overall U.S. strategy to

combat WMD must be brought to bear in

targeted strategies against supplier and recipient

states of WMD proliferation concern, as well as

against terrorist groups which seek to acquire

WMD. 

A few states are dedicated proliferators, whose

leaders are determined to develop, maintain, and

improve their WMD and delivery capabilities,

which directly threaten the United States, U.S.

forces overseas, and/or our friends and allies.

Because each of these regimes is different, we will

pursue country-specific strategies that best enable

us and our friends and allies to prevent, deter, and

defend against WMD and missile threats from

each of them. These strategies must also take into

account the growing cooperation among proliferant states—so-called secondary proliferation—

which challenges us to think in new ways about

specific country strategies. 

One of the most difficult challenges we face is

to prevent, deter, and defend against the acquisition and use of WMD by terrorist groups. The

current and potential future linkages between

terrorist groups and state sponsors of terrorism

are particularly dangerous and require priority

attention. The full range of counterproliferation,

nonproliferation, and consequence management

measures must be brought to bear against the

WMD terrorist threat, just as they are against

states of greatest proliferation concern. 

END NOTE

Our National Strategy to Combat WMD

requires much of all of us—the Executive Branch,

the Congress, state and local governments, the

American people, and our friends and allies. The

requirements to prevent, deter, defend against,

and respond to today’s WMD threats are complex

and challenging. But they are not daunting. We

can and will succeed in the tasks laid out in this

strategy; we have no other choice. 

N ATIONAL S TRATEGY TO C OMBAT W EAPONS OF M ASS D ESTRUCTION

6