Much of today's contemporary military writing, official literature and discussion focuses on structuring the United States military to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century. Included in this effort is much concern about the concept of asymmetrical warfare. Recognized examples of asymmetric warfare include weapons of mass destruction, terrorism and information operations. The use of weapons of mass destruction, conventionally or unconventionally, poses a significant challenge to the US government and military. Given the United States nuclear arsenal and its capability to handle biological and chemical weapons, are WMD asymmetrical to the United States? America's possible shortcomings in NRC defense readiness could create asymmetry favoring an attacker. This monograph explores the definition of asymmetric warfare, its relationship to the US, NBC defense readiness, and assesses whether a biological or chemical attack against the US should be considered asymmetric. This monograph begins by examining the published definitions of asymmetry and asymmetric warfare as they exist in contemporary literature and official documents. In addition, NBC defense readiness is analyzed to determine the level of readiness that creates asymmetry in relation to weapons of mass destruction. From this review and analysis a definition of asymmetric warfare is developed. The definition and its components serve as the evaluation criteria to judge whether WMD use against the US would be truly asymmetric. Case studies serve as the test environments or experiments (Operation Desert Storm and the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia). Each case study was selected based on its potential for WMD volatility. Although in both cases no US troops or civilians were exposed to WMD, planning considerations and force protection measures were serious concerns. Lastly, the case studies are analyzed with regard to the developed definition to determine if WMD attacks in either case study would be considered asymmetric. Analyses of Operation Desert Shield/Storm and the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta proved beneficial in obtaining a realistic view of US NBC defense preparedness against a WMD attack. Both studies revealed substantial deficiencies with respect to meeting established standards of NBC defense preparedness, which created vulnerability to asymmetric attack using weapons of mass destruction. A review of current federal, state and local actions to mitigate these deficiencies are discussed at the close of the monograph.

ADA 366259 Approved for public release; Distribution is unlimited. The opinions and conclusions expressed herein are those of the student-authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College or any other governmental agency. (References to these studies should include the foregoing statement.)