- There is a certain logic to it, I suppose.
Two nuclear explosions in Japan half a century ago, with great blasts,
great noise, mushroom clouds, many dead. It terrified America and much
of the world and, except for military circles, little thought was given
to the estimated million American soldiers who might have given their lives
if they'd tried to storm Japan without the nuclear bombs' aid.
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- But that's the way it goes. A historical
event surrounded by great theatrical effects makes a really big impression.
But what if the next weapon of mass destruction is silent, gives no warning,
is not preceded by a pyrotechnic blast, but takes effect more slowly, leaving
hospitals swamped, and millions in great American cities with hideously
blistered faces dying in the streets?
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- The doctors sent to succor them also
die the same painful and unsightly deaths. For biological weapons now have
the potential to wipe out cities, states and even entire national populations
if positioned in the air, water supply or food supply. The food supply
would progressively be shipped to various parts of the country, ultimately
killing millions of people. And all, except for the groans of the dying,
could be done in relative silence, with only the piles of dead in the streets
to bear witness as in the Plague Years of the Middle Ages.
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- As pointed out by former Secretary of
Defense William Perry, most biological agents are sensitive to heat, and
ready-to-eat foods are the most likely vehicles for mass contamination.
So eat up your Quick Burger and fries with confidence that death will soon
follow. Food processing plants and water purification facilities also provide
tempting targets.
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- Microorganisms, it should be noted, are
a very inexpensive way to exterminate entire populations. Above all, many
microorganisms can be cheaply grown, each having its own unique uses. As
stressed by Carl Yaeger of Utah Valley State College and Steven Fustero,
IACSP Director of Operations, this is a great advantage in deciding the
effect wished to be brought about on the section of the population at which
the attack is directed. Since the organisms are capable of rapid reproduction,
only a small amount is required to infect a very large area.
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- But possibly more interesting than the
large area to be infected is the selectivity. With the development of biochemistry
and genetic engineering, it might be possible to target ethnic groups --
which, once it is announced to the general public, should do wonders for
the harmony of America's various ethnic and racial groupings. Judging by
some recent events, there are not a few extremist groups in the United
States that would give little thought to wiping out thousands of "undesirables."
This kind of germ weapon would be highly prized in the hands of terrorist
groups, and in the hands of these terrorists could well be more lethal
than tactical nuclear weapons.
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- A terrorist can accomplish his agenda
in many ways with biological weapons. Terrorists are creative and use varying
tactics, as is spelled out in Yonah Alexander's book "International
Terrorism." The book gives an alarming list of different styles of
terrorism in different parts of the world. Contributing to the problem
is the easy availability of information for anyone who would mix up a bag
of anything toxic from recipes readily accessible on the internet.
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- As Fred Reed points out in his essay
"Publishing Do It Yourself Munitions Books Increases the Risk of Terrorism,"
much of this information is not that hard to get. Even nerve gas has a
patent that makes the formula public. Biological weapons do not have a
single, unique effect. Human beings along with other animals are constantly
being attacked by disease-causing bacteria and viruses.
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- Biological weapons, for the most part,
create the same effects as any of the wide variety of naturally occurring
diseases, which makes tracking them down so baffling. These artificial
agents could be used merely to weaken the targeted population, to intimidate
it with no intention of inflicting wide scale casualties, or simply to
wipe it out. The options are many.
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- Biological agents can also be selective
in another way, as they could be used to target crops and cattle or to
start an epidemic of a highly dangerous disease such as smallpox. Furthermore,
if an agent were released in the proper way, it could be months before
anyone even knew how the epidemic had started. And there are many other
advantages of using biological weapons. Terrorists do not necessarily need
or want a weapon of mass destruction. A simpler biological weapon might
be more controllable and kill enough people to suit the terrorists' purposes.
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- Still another advantage could be secrecy
and concealment. Limited attacks could be carried out secretly before open
"hostilities" even began. As you can see, a whole new age of
warfare is beginning. According to an excellent PBS "Frontline"
documentary aired this week, the Soviet Union, even under Mikhail Gorbachev,
had already broken an international agreement restricting chemical and
biological weapons.
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- But given the collapse of the Soviet
Union, and the subsequent chaos into which Russia has since been plunged,
where are those Russian weapons now? Perhaps, wherever they are -- and
this is an uneasy thought -- they could be prepared to kill millions by
being disseminated in the air by cans of hair spray. But most Americans
don't want to think about this.
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- Copyright © 1998 News World Communications,
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