Modern warfare takes a biological route, not chemical
By: Eilish Brown
Issue date: 4/16/09 Section: Health & Science
In a time of constant discussion about terrorism and guerrilla warfare, it is important to understand the two most dangerous weapons available. Chemical weapons have been used for thousands of years in the form of poisoned arrows or knives, but they have been perfected in the modern era to weapons that cause high mortality and inhumane pain. In 1925, the Geneva protocol banned the use of most weaponized chemicals and biological agents, which had ravaged both sides of the Western front during World War II. This protocol did not ban the manufacture, storage or movement of current weapons, or the creation of new chemical or biological weapons. Treaties discussing these aspects were creates in 1972 and 1993.
Chemical weapons are defined by the Federation of American Scientists as weapons which "use the toxic properties of chemical substances rather than their explosive properties to produce physical or physiological effects on an enemy." Some of the chemicals that can be weaponized have real industrial uses, while others are used solely for human pain. Nerve agents such as sarin are usually regarded as the worst of the weapons, though most of the most commonly known are deadly depending on the concentration and means of contact.
The FAS defines biological weapons as weapons which deliver "toxins and microorganisms, such as viruses and bacteria, so as to deliberately inflict disease among people, animals, and agriculture." One of the earliest records of biological warfare was at Caffa in 1346, where the Golden Horde tossed dead Black Death-infested bodies over the city walls. In The Great Mortality, John Kelly wrote that "we have images of Berlin in 1945 and Saigon in 1975 . . . to suggest what Caffa's final days would have looked like." The devastation of the Black Death, which historians estimate killed between 30 percent and 60 percent Europe, should speak for itself. Even in the Dark Ages when leading scientists were attempting to turn lead into gold, the diseases used in war were capable of decimating one's enemy. Currently, biological weapon production usually involves acquiring an agent such as a virus or bacteria, growing enough of it to make selections to alter the original, and then finding a way to deliver it in the most efficient way possible. Many of the most useful viruses, such as smallpox, are extremely difficult to find. The only known containers of smallpox on the planet are in two WHO laboratories (in Russia and the US), and are under constant surveillance. Needless to say, this kind of protection makes using such agents almost impossible.
Chemical weapons are defined by the Federation of American Scientists as weapons which "use the toxic properties of chemical substances rather than their explosive properties to produce physical or physiological effects on an enemy." Some of the chemicals that can be weaponized have real industrial uses, while others are used solely for human pain. Nerve agents such as sarin are usually regarded as the worst of the weapons, though most of the most commonly known are deadly depending on the concentration and means of contact.
The FAS defines biological weapons as weapons which deliver "toxins and microorganisms, such as viruses and bacteria, so as to deliberately inflict disease among people, animals, and agriculture." One of the earliest records of biological warfare was at Caffa in 1346, where the Golden Horde tossed dead Black Death-infested bodies over the city walls. In The Great Mortality, John Kelly wrote that "we have images of Berlin in 1945 and Saigon in 1975 . . . to suggest what Caffa's final days would have looked like." The devastation of the Black Death, which historians estimate killed between 30 percent and 60 percent Europe, should speak for itself. Even in the Dark Ages when leading scientists were attempting to turn lead into gold, the diseases used in war were capable of decimating one's enemy. Currently, biological weapon production usually involves acquiring an agent such as a virus or bacteria, growing enough of it to make selections to alter the original, and then finding a way to deliver it in the most efficient way possible. Many of the most useful viruses, such as smallpox, are extremely difficult to find. The only known containers of smallpox on the planet are in two WHO laboratories (in Russia and the US), and are under constant surveillance. Needless to say, this kind of protection makes using such agents almost impossible.