Stockpiling WMDs constitutes standing state readiness to kill civilians

Evidence

One might add to this that the manufacture, possession, and deployment of weapons of mass destruction (chemical, biological, and nuclear) must be counted as instances of declared governmental readiness to inflict cruel death upon civilian populations even when these weapons are not actually used. In brief, cruel modern technologies of destruction are integral to modern warfare, and modern warfare is an activity essential to the security and power of the modern state, on which the welfare and identity of its citizens depends. In war, the modern state demands from its citizens not only that they kill and maim others but also that they themselves suffer cruel pain and death. Human life is sacred, but only in particular contexts that the state defines. — Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular, 572 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Holding weapons of mass destruction constitutes declared readiness to inflict cruel death on civilians — Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular:…, 572; The modern state is built on declared readiness to inflict cruel death — Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular:…, 572; War exercises sovereignty through the right to kill. — Achille Mbembe, Necropolitics, 7 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Holding weapons of mass destruction constitutes declared readiness to inflict cruel death on civilians #expands (0.97) — Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular, 572