International Law and Weapons of Mass Destruction: End of the Arms Control Approach?

The threat posed by weapons of mass destruction (WMD) has become one of the most important, if not the most important, issue on security and foreign policy agendas at the beginning of the twentyfirst century. Iraq’s alleged pursuit and possession of WMD dominated the international security agenda from President Bush’s speech to the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in September 2002, through UN Security Council Resolution 1441 providing Iraq one last opportunity to comply with previous Security Council Resolutions, and culminating in the U.S. and British invasion of Iraq in March 2003. Through the Bush Doctrine, the world’s leading political and military power has made WMD a centerpiece of a new strategic doctrine designed to guide the assessment of national security threats and