# Is Napalm a WMD? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 29, 2013, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-napalm-a-wmd/667498 "2013-08-29T13:44:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![georgewk10](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f475e1/32.png) [@georgewk10](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/georgewk10)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-napalm-a-wmd/667498/1 "2013-08-29T13:44:55Z")
And the only country to use a nuke on civilians is… the USA. a.k.a. the world’s policeman. Time to get off the "Moral " high horse. eh? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-napalm-a-wmd/667498/2 "2013-08-29T13:56:36Z")
No. A WMD is a nuclear, biological, or chemical weapon. ♪\* I am stuck on napalm 'Cause napalm sticks to me!\* ♪ ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-napalm-a-wmd/667498/3 "2013-08-29T14:01:15Z")
> [@georgewk10](#): > > Time to get off the "Moral " high horse. eh? Nope. As long as there are people like you on the planet, we have Moral Superiority. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-napalm-a-wmd/667498/4 "2013-08-29T14:12:59Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > No. A WMD is a nuclear, biological, or chemical weapon. > > ♪\* I am stuck on napalm > 'Cause napalm sticks to me!\* ♪ They’ve thrown in radiological now too. CBRN is the current acronym. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-napalm-a-wmd/667498/5 "2013-08-29T14:19:41Z")
So NBC = CBRN = WMD? I see. ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-napalm-a-wmd/667498/6 "2013-08-29T14:26:36Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > They’ve thrown in radiological now too. CBRN is the current acronym. I wonder how they define the difference between nuclear and radiological. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-napalm-a-wmd/667498/7 "2013-08-29T14:29:00Z")
Blast vs radiation probably. Radiological would include dusting. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-napalm-a-wmd/667498/8 "2013-08-29T14:29:59Z")
A dirty bomb would probably be “radiological,” or dusting. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-napalm-a-wmd/667498/9 "2013-08-29T14:35:18Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > They’ve thrown in radiological now too. CBRN is the current acronym. I was remembering when I was a Sea Cadet, and one of the books (_The Bluejackets Manual_?) had a section called ‘NBC Defense’. I hadn’t thought about radiological weapons. In reality, I don’t see ‘dirty bombs’ as WMD. They scare the hell out of people, but I don’t think they’re that dangerous. Wouldn’t like to be around one, but I don’t see them as being in the same class as the others. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-napalm-a-wmd/667498/10 "2013-08-29T15:30:17Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > ♪\* I am stuck on napalm > 'Cause napalm sticks to me!\* ♪ _Napalm sticks to little chilll-dren, All the children of the world, Red and yellow, black and white, They’re the same when they ignite, Napalm sticks to all the children of the world!_ ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-napalm-a-wmd/667498/11 "2013-08-29T16:00:25Z")
A radiological attack (ie, a “dirty bomb”) dumps a bunch of radioactive particles around an area, but doesn’t have an actual nuclear explosion. Basically, you’re comitting a Chernobyl or Fukushima-type accident on purpose, to screw up your enemy’s land for years to come. ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-napalm-a-wmd/667498/12 "2013-08-29T16:08:02Z")
I don’t see the connection between the title of the post and its contents, except to have a sly dig at the USA. And no napalm isn’t a WMD, just because a weapon is unpleasant doesn’t make it fall into the latter bracket, fuel-air explosives/thermobaric weapons would be a lot closer though but even the largest FAE can barely match the yield of the smallest practically deployable nuclear weapon. ---
**Author:** ![Werekoala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7993a0/32.png) [@Werekoala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Werekoala)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-napalm-a-wmd/667498/13 "2013-08-29T17:19:50Z")
Actually, it is. In fact, US Code was revised shortly after 9/11 so that even hand grenades and pipe bombs are WMDs. Anything that can kill more than one person per use, essentially, can now be classified as such. I didn’t believe it either when I heard it - some pipe-bomber or somesuch was charged with using WMDs as part of the laundry list against him a few years back, and when I heard it in the news story I was incredulous - but Google is your friend. ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-napalm-a-wmd/667498/14 "2013-08-29T17:30:32Z")
> [@Werekoala](#): > > Actually, it is. In fact, US Code was revised shortly after 9/11 so that even hand grenades and pipe bombs are WMDs. Anything that can kill more than one person per use, essentially, can now be classified as such. So what you’re saying is that a car is a WMD? Well, now I owe George W. Bush an apology :smack:. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-napalm-a-wmd/667498/15 "2013-08-29T17:31:23Z")
> [@Werekoala](#): > > Actually, it is. In fact, US Code was revised shortly after 9/11 so that even hand grenades and pipe bombs are WMDs. Anything that can kill more than one person per use, essentially, can now be classified as such. > > I didn’t believe it either when I heard it - some pipe-bomber or somesuch was charged with using WMDs as part of the laundry list against him a few years back, and when I heard it in the news story I was incredulous - but Google is your friend. There are people who write US terrorism laws, and then there are people who still have some tiny shred of sanity & common sense. A “weapon of mass destruction,” the way the term is normally used, means a weapon which would be used to cause widespread devestation, such as wiping out an entire city. A single napalm bomb wouldn’t be a WMD, but a large scale attack (of the kind that were conducted against several Axis cities in WW2) would definitely be a WMD, as those raids were done with the specific intent of burning down the whole damn city, or at least as much of it as possible. Shit, a napalm raid on Tokyo killed more people than either atomic bomb! ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-napalm-a-wmd/667498/16 "2013-08-29T17:37:28Z")
> [@georgewk10](#): > > And the only country to use a nuke on civilians is… the USA. > a.k.a. the world’s policeman. > Time to get off the "Moral " high horse. eh? LOL. The U.S. wasn’t the first country that tried to build an “atomic” super weapon. Germany, England, Russia and Japan also attempted to build a nuclear bomb. The U.S. program was the first to actually build a working model. The use of Little Boy and Fat Man shortened WWII by at least a year if not more. If the U.S. had been interested in world domination, there would have little that any country could have done to stop it. If the Nazis or Imperial Japan had been the first to develop a working nuclear bomb, they would have used it to conquer the world. The U.S. didn’t prepare for another world war. The U.S. didn’t want another world war. The U.S. didn’t start another world war. The U.S. did help end WWII and then chose to help rebuild most of the war torn areas. I think your “high horse” is lame. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-napalm-a-wmd/667498/17 "2013-08-29T17:52:21Z")
> [@Disposable Hero](#): > > I don’t see the connection between the title of the post and its contents, except to have a sly dig at the USA. > > And no napalm isn’t a WMD, just because a weapon is unpleasant doesn’t make it fall into the latter bracket, fuel-air explosives/thermobaric weapons would be a lot closer though but even the largest FAE can barely match the yield of the smallest practically deployable nuclear weapon. It was a petty dig at the U.S… As far as WMD’s are concerned, it depends on who you talk to and WHEN. The definition seems to be constantly changing so it might be different tomorrow. WMD = weapon of **mass destruction** , so any weapon that causes MASS destruction could be considered a WMD. Legally-speaking, any weapon described by legislative action (aka a law) would be a WMD. To stretch the point, a knife can only be used on one victim (or tire) at a time. One revolver could injure 5 or 6 people. One pipe bomb could injure dozens. One gas or biological weapon could injure hundreds or thousands. So it really depends on how legislators or government agencies currently define “mass destruction”. ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-napalm-a-wmd/667498/18 "2013-08-29T17:56:51Z")
> [@Werekoala](#): > > Actually, it is. In fact, US Code was revised shortly after 9/11 so that even hand grenades and pipe bombs are WMDs. Anything that can kill more than one person per use, essentially, can now be classified as such. > > I didn’t believe it either when I heard it - some pipe-bomber or somesuch was charged with using WMDs as part of the laundry list against him a few years back, and when I heard it in the news story I was incredulous - but Google is your friend. Wow, talk about rendering a term down into meaninglessness. > [@Diceman](#): > > There are people who write US terrorism laws, and then there are people who still have some tiny shred of sanity & common sense. A “weapon of mass destruction,” the way the term is normally used, means a weapon which would be used to cause widespread devestation, such as wiping out an entire city. A single napalm bomb wouldn’t be a WMD, but a large scale attack (of the kind that were conducted against several Axis cities in WW2) would definitely be a WMD, as those raids were done with the specific intent of burning down the whole damn city, or at least as much of it as possible. Shit, a napalm raid on Tokyo killed more people than either atomic bomb! Just a nitpick from a good post, it wasn’t a napalm attack on Tokyo but rather incendiaries wasn’t it? Not that that has any bearing on your point. ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-napalm-a-wmd/667498/19 "2013-08-29T18:13:31Z")
Yeah, I don’t think Napalm® was around just yet, they likely used phosphorus against Tokyo. Edit- a dirty bomb could be made with really short-lived isotope, couldn’t it? Disable a city for months or years rather than decades or centuries? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-napalm-a-wmd/667498/20 "2013-08-29T18:19:04Z")
> [@aNewLeaf](#): > > Yeah, I don’t think Napalm(R) was around just yet, they likely used phosphorus against Tokyo. I thought they used thermite. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-napalm-a-wmd/667498.md?page=2)