Weapons of Mass Destruction the Search for Weapons in Nazi Germany and Iraq

Nineteen Hundred Thirty-Nine (1939) was a year that changed the world forever. Most notably, Hitler invaded Poland and began a conflict that would involve the world for the next six years and claim millions of lives. That same year a German scientist discovered that nuclear fission was possible, beginning the nuclear arms race that still influences the world today. The Allied fears of Germany’s atomic weapon grew as the war progressed, reaching a pinnacle in 1943. The Allies feverishly began an intelligence operation called Alsos to uncover Hitler’s nuclear secrets. By the war’s end, Operation Alsos determined that the German atomic program was in its infancy and incapable of developing an atomic bomb. Germany’s lack of progress can be attributed to scientific mistakes, academia dominance, Nazi mismanagement, and Allied interdictions. Nearly sixty years later, the U.S. and other coalition partners embarked on a similar mission against Iraq to eliminate its weapons of mass destruction (WMD) capabilities.

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