ABSTRACT
This chapter traces the pattern of inconsistency and explores its sources through an examination of the various influences on chemical warfare policy. The problem was how to gain the best of each objective without compromising either, while at the same time formulating policy in an open society already strongly inclined to despise chemical warfare. The stimulant for restudy of gas warfare policy was the Draft Convention prepared by the Preparatory Commission for the World Disarmament Conference. The new realism was particularly evident in war planning. In 1921 the War Department had refused even to consider the use of toxic agents in war plans. The World Disarmament Conference had a beneficial effect on American chemical warfare policy. In effect, the Disarmament Conference had clarified policy within the Executive Branch much as the debate on ratification of the Geneva Gas Protocol had stimulated the Senate.
