When World War II ended with Japan's surrender 57 years ago today, few could have anticipated the extent to which deadly weapons would one day threaten humanity. However, the history of the world since 1945 can be described as the history of the spread of weapons of mass destruction. Nuclear, biological and chemical weapons and the missiles that transport them have proliferated from developed to developing nations, and there is an increasing possibility that these weapons may fall into the hands of terrorist groups.

At present, eight countries possess nuclear weapons: the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, together with Israel, India and Pakistan. Three other countries (Iraq, Iran and North Korea) are reportedly on the way to possessing nuclear capabilities. The Federation of American Scientists estimates that 27 states possess chemical weapons, 19 are suspected of possessing biological weapons and 16 have missiles. In addition, many countries possess the means to produce chemical weapons from general substances such as agricultural chemicals.

Concern that international terrorist groups might get hold of and use weapons of mass destruction has mounted since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States last year. After that, there was an outbreak of biological terrorism in the U.S. involving anthrax. In Afghanistan, structural designs for nuclear weapons and other such materials were confiscated from underground hideouts of the al-Qaeda terrorist group. Furthermore, in an interview with a Pakistani newspaper, Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda, declared that he possessed nuclear and chemical weapons. It was also revealed that a member of al-Qaeda arrested in the U.S. in May had been planning to use a dirty bomb packed with radioactive substances in a terrorist attack on Washington.