President Donald J. Trump Is Taking Action to Keep Weapons of Mass Destruction Out of the Hands of Terrorists | Eastern NC Now

Press Release:

    "We must deny the terrorists safe haven, transit, funding, and any form of support for their vile and sinister ideology. We must drive them out of our nations."  -  President Donald J. Trump

    KEEPING WMD OUT OF TERRORISTS' HANDS: President Donald J. Trump is releasing a new National Strategy for Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Terrorism.

            •  President Trump's new strategy will focus on deterrence, detection, and disruption.

            •  The strategy emphasizes on preventing terrorists from conducting WMD attacks and deterring hostile states and individuals from assisting them. This will include:

                  •  Making acquisition of WMD and associated materials as difficult as possible.

                  •  Strengthening our defenses to a degree that such terrorist attacks will be unsuccessful.

                  •  Deterring state and individual support for WMD terrorism.

            •  The President's strategy addresses the need to disrupt and degrade the technical capabilities of terrorists plotting WMD attacks.

            •  The United States will make investments to identify and protect against technological trends that may enable terrorists to develop, acquire, or use WMD.

            •  Educational campaigns and other efforts will seek to increase the preparedness of State, local, tribal, and territorial governments, as well as our citizens.

            •  Given the potential global effects of WMD terrorism, the United States will assist other countries where necessary to build their capacity to combat this growing threat.


    COUNTERING THIS GROWING THREAT: The Trump Administration is taking these new aggressive steps to counter the growing threat posed by WMD terrorism.

            •  Despite decades of efforts, past approaches have insufficiently mitigated the WMD threat to the United States.

            •  Over the past 40 years, multiple groups have attempted to develop WMD and, in some cases, have successfully used them against military and civilian targets.

                  •  ISIS, for instance, has used sulfur mustard, chlorine, and other toxic chemicals on the battlefield.

            •  Technology has enabled terrorists to more easily acquire the capability to use WMD.

            •  Past terrorist attacks suggest that terrorists would not hesitate to use WMD should they acquire them.

            •  Without our intervention, the historical trend indicates that the development and use of WMD by terrorists will continue to increase at a significant rate.

    DEFENDING THE AMERICAN PEOPLE: President Donald J. Trump is committed to defending the American people from the threat of terrorism and WMD.

            •  President Trump's new strategy to combat WMD terrorism is just the latest in a string of efforts to increase the defense and security of the American people.

            •  In September, President Trump urged the United Nations Security Council to counter the proliferation of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons.

            •  This year, the Trump Administration has released other new strategies on counterterrorism, biodefense, and cybersecurity to address the wide-ranging threats our country faces.

• Contact: White House
•     Press Office