In the past decade, as the threat from rogue states and terrorist groups has increased, the U. S. and its allies have devoted far greater attention to how to manage the consequences of prospective uses of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Consequence management is a process to mitigate the effects of the use of weapons of mass destruction, including: detecting and characterizing weapons of mass destruction attacks; measures that protect public health, ensure safety, and protect the environment; measures to medically counter the effects of weapons of mass destruction attacks; measures that restore essential services to government, businesses and individuals; and planning, training and equipping to coordinate/synchronize the civil-military response. A thorough review and discussion of U.S. plans for consequence management will include the following: the history of consequence management of the effects of weapons of mass destruction, with particular focus on the period since 1993; the mandate for consequence management in the recent U.S. National Security Strategy and National Strategy to Combat Weapons of Mass Destruction; the potential effects of weapons of mass destruction; current concepts of consequence management; the potential ability to improve consequence management in the future.

"August 2004"--Added t.p.

Introduction -- History of WMD consequence management -- Mandate for consequence management in the national security strategy -- WMD threats and their potential effects -- Methods for managing the consequences of WMD use -- Toward a capabilities-based approach.