Читать книгу Health Service Support in a Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Environment - United States. Department of the Army - Страница 6

a. After World War II, the Soviet Union represented the principal threat to the national security interests of the US. During this period, the military capability of the Soviet Armed Forces grew enormously. Starting in the later years of the 1980s, the international security environment has undergone rapid, fundamental, and revolutionary changes. With the collapse of Soviet communism, the Soviet Union disintegrated as a viable economic and political system. The Warsaw Pact dissolved as a political and military entity. The central Soviet government was replaced by the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), dominated by the Russian Republic. The cohesion of Soviet strategic military capability has been fractured by—

 The dissolution of central Soviet control.

 The formation of the CIS.

 The unpredictability associated with uncertain loyalties and low morale.

The ultimate outcome of these events in terms of US national security interests is unclear. The military capabilities of CIS like Russia, Ukraine, Kazakstan, and Belarus remain formidable. The capabilities include strategic nuclear and impressive conventional, biological, and chemical warfighting capabilities.

b. From a global perspective, the economic power and influence of developing and newly industrialized nations continue to grow. Centers of power (global or regional) cannot be measured solely in military terms. Nation states pursuing their own political, ideological, and economic interests may become engaged in direct or indirect competition and conflict with the US. More nations have acquired significant numbers of modern, lethal, combat weapon systems; developed very capable armed forces; and become more assertive in international affairs. In the absence of a single, credible, coercive threat, old rivalries and long repressed territorial ambitions will resurface, causing increased tensions in many regions. Political, economic, and social instability and religious, cultural, and economic competition will continue to erode the influence of the US over the rest of the world. This erosion will also reduce the US influence of traditional regional powers over their neighbors. This environment will encourage the continued development, or acquisition, of modern armed forces and equipment by less influential nations; thus raising the potential for the use of NBC/RDD weapons during internal conflict and armed confrontations in developing regions of the world.

c. A third dimension to the threat is terrorist, rogue groups, and belligerents employing a number of chemical and biological agents and the possible use of TIM to injure or kill US personnel. The actions may be isolated or may be imposed by groups of individuals. Most will have the financial backing of nations, large organizations, or groups that have the desire to cause harm and create public distrust in our government.