Biological Warfare Essay Research Paper Biological warfare

Biological Warfare Essay, Research Paper

Biological warfare

There is no longer a question of whether or not a bioterrorist will attack, but rather the question remains, when will they attack. “It is highly likely that a terrorist group could threaten or attack Americans with germs within the next few years,” according to President Clinton (T.V.). Biological warfare intentionally uses viruses, bacteria, fungi, or toxins from living organisms and death or disease in humans, animals, or plants. Fermentation can be used to produce such bacterial agents as anthrax, brucellosis, cholera, meloidosis, plague, q fever, or tularemia. Other viral agents are smallpox, cimean congo HF, rift valley fever, and vee (Helsinsky). Use of these types of viruses and bacteria are becoming widespread in many areas of the world because they can affect many people efficiently and are cost effective.

Biological weapons can be traced back to Exodus when God placed the ten plagues upon the Egyptians, as a result of Pharaoh’s refusal to free the Jews from slavery. These plagues included blood, frogs, vermin, flies, murrain, boils, hail, locusts, darkness, and the slaying of the first-born. Even though this type of warfare may have had origins as early as Exodus, the process of making these germs is described in scientific literature and is no secret to terrorists (Helsinsky, other). Which are only seven simple steps to follow. The steps are very simple, the first process would be to start off by selecting a source of protein you want that you would want to have a mass amount of. The second, would be to isolate and purify the total RNA, after that is accumulated you would have to make a cDNA using the PCR. The fourth step would be to amplify the cDNA by also using the PCR once again. Fifth, you would have to clone the fragment by inserting the protein into a plasmid form and transforming an e. coli, and the final step, would be to express the protein and purify it. The steps sound difficult to follow, but if you know what you are doing and you are familiar with the terms you can easily make a deadly weapon with a chemical by following these steps (Helsinski).

This germ warfare is an especially serious threat for several different reasons. The first reason is the ability of these germ agents to be undetectable to spy technology. Secondly, the warfare labs that are used to produce these germs are difficult to detect, and major nations sometimes work together collectively to produce these agents for use in warfare. Most importantly, it is against this threat that there may be no defense. Even though bioterrorism has been banned, it poses the greatest threat upon the Western World because of the mobility of their population. For this reason it is necessary for extremists to use aerosol dispersion to contaminate food, water, or air resulting in the death of every living organism.

Two incidents in particular make this threat of a bioterrorist attack more likely to occur. The first of these occurred in Tokyo when nerve gas was unleashed in a Tokyo subway by the nihilistic Japanese cult group, Aum Shinrikyo. Twelve people were left dead and another five thousand had to be hospitalized (G.E. McCuen, Pg.). This incident raises an even greater concern because the taboo that once prevented terrorists from attacking no longer exists; it was broken when these warfare agents were used in the Tokyo subway. This occurrence opened the eyes of the world to the need for strategies that both prepare and prevent these types of terrorist attacks. The second fact is that advancements in biological technologies have become widespread throughout the world. A shocking number of at least seventeen nations are suspected of having or attempting to acquire germ weapons. Among the seventeen nations is Iraq. Before the Gulf War in 1991, Iraq admitted to research and production facilities and in 1995 confessed to manufacturing anthrax spores, botulinum toxin, and aflatoxin for weaponry. In 1997, Sudaam Hussein’s banning of American inspectors from investigating their development of these weapons created a widespread public concern. The world was surprised to learn that Iraq had produced enough deadly microbes to kill all the people on Earth several times over. Because certain essential details remain unknown about perfecting biological weaponry, Iraq was never able to master their bacterial agents. On the other hand, accidental and unpredictable situations can result from these weapons of mass destruction.

In Europe, the smallpox epidemic that occurred in the 1970’s proved just how dangerous the release of these organisms could be. In 1979, when aerosolized anthrax was released from a Russian biological weapon manufacturing facility, the outcome was proven to be a lethal accident. Another accident that is to some extent purposeful, but is proving to be dangerous is the island in the Aral Sea of Kazakhstan. It is at this site that Soviet soldiers buried anthrax during the Cold War in a top-secret operation. These soldiers assumed the anthrax would never have any effect on anyone because they had soaked it in bleach with the intention of it eventually dying off. The Monterrey Institute of International Studies calls this island “a ticking time bomb.” The soviet troops buried the anthrax in order to keep the international control inspectors from discovering it. Local authorities will not allow the Mon