Biological Weapon Funding

“Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Soviet Union and the United Kingdom were among many countries that investigated how to wage biological war.” (pg. 38) Some of these countries have biological weapons programs and even some biological weapons have been used in the past. A Russian program “known to the Soviets as “the Concern Bioreparat”, supposedly a series of laboratories and plants that manufactured vaccines and other medicinal products, was in fact a vast network of secret cities, production plants of Moscow’s germ effort. Bioreparat studied and perfected germs as weapons. President Richard Nixon’s administration became the “world’s leading advocate for a treaty banning germ warfare. Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention- prohibited the possession of deadly biological agents except for research…for vaccines, detection and protective gear. It was the world’s first treaty to ban an entire class of weapons.” (pg. 63) April 1979, an explosion at a secret military base near Soviet city of Sverdlovsk, sent a cloud of Bacillus anthracis fanning over a nearby village, leaving thousands dead. Although the Soviets, had signed the treaty, they denied allegations that this was “nothing more nefarious than tainted meat.” (pg. 77) During the Gulf War, for example, biological weapons developed by Iraq posed a threat and they might, if fact still pose a threat. While US went in search of nuclear

“Bioterrorism remains a major threat for the United States despite more than $65 billion spent on protecting the country from myriad dangers, the Bipartisan WMD Terrorism Research Center said in its latest report Wednesday. The center's Bio-Response Report Card evaluated U.S. preparedness for countering threats from bioterrorism and found the country remains vulnerable to multiple threats and "largely unprepared for a large-scale bioterrorist attack."”(UPI.com, 2011). There have been over a dozen leading U.S. bio-defense experts that have taken part in figuring out where we are exactly as a county and what the effects of a terroristic attack

These biological agents could be viruses, toxins, bacteria, etc. Agents could be used in war or terrorist attacks. Also, they could be modified to cause extreme diseases and disorders, according to The Center for Disease Control and Prevention. It makes bioterrorism even more tempting to use as it is easy and inexpensive to produce, disseminate and can cause a more widespread panic than other acts of terrorism (1).

A governmental concern is that a bioterrorist attack will trigger panic amongst the population. Panic refers to a group response where intense fear causes people to be concerned with only their survival. While actual panic is rare, there are certain factors that could cause panic in the event of a bioterrorist attack, including limited medical resources where “first come, first serve” applies, a perception that there is poor

Project Bioshield will protect the citizens of the United States of America safe from biological threats and warfare. Biological warfare is an act of war by using infectious toxins to wipe out or immobilize humans and animals. An example some these infectious toxins include viruses, diseases, fungi, and bacteria. “Project Bioshield is an attempt to create useful medicines to protect the people of the United States of America from biological and nuclear weapons.” (Progress in the War on Terror)

A biological weapon is defined as “any of a number of disease-producing agents, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and toxins, that may be utilized as weapons against humans, animals or plants.” (Britannica Online Encyclopedia).

The Rajneeshee bioterrorism attack is the perfect example of terrorist or an extremist group taking matters in their own hands. It seems that the purpose and method of delivery was well thought out and was not irrational, Diseases have always been the enemy to man and animals, using viruses as weapons clearly presents a threat to the public and to national security.

One of the reasons as to why the commission believes that terrorists are more likely to obtain biological weapons than nuclear weapons is because some biological weapons are much simpler and easier to make than nuclear weapons (Abramson, 2012). Moreover, the materials that are needed to create a biological weapon could easily be obtained from innocuous endeavors that improve the quality of human life (Abramson, 2012). On the other hand, if a terrorist organization would try to conduct a nuclear attack, then they would face many challenges that would be very difficult to overcome while also keeping the attack secret (Gerstein, 2010). One of these challenges would be acquiring the equipment and the infrastructure that is needed to create a nuclear weapon without raising any alarms to authorities about the intents of the terrorist organization (Gerstein, 2010). The terrorist organization

Honestly, the threat of a biological attack is very real. Take this threat back just twenty years ago with the Japanese Sarin Cult, that it was discovered that they had within their inventory of biological weapons Ebola and Anthrax (Wright, 2008). How they gain access to these deadly viruses is somewhat unknown, but still they were obtained. Currently, research organizations and laboratories that carry these viruses are monitored and the security around the faculties is very advanced. But the Ebola virus made its way from Africa to the United States, not too long ago and who is to say that that particular outbreak was not a “dress rehearsal” for an attack on a particular region?

To further show the ineffectiveness of biological weapons, the most toxic biological substance on earth is used on humans to reduce wrinkles. That's not to say that things such ricin, botox, and anthrax are not dangerous because they are and they will kill you in very small does. The point is they are and never will be as dangerous as a nuclear bomb. With that said there is one case in which biological weapons could potentially be very devastating. The most effective biological weapon would be a contagious one such as the plague. This way if you use it, it will spread itself causing an outbreak that could potentially kill a lot of people. This has happened in once in modern times by a group named Unit 731 led by a man named Shiro Ishii. Ishii and his group successfully killed over 500,000 people using biological weapons, proving that it is quite possible for bioweapons to be an effective killing

Given the difficulties to acquire and develop of biological weapons, the DHS likely saw the acquisition of the REBS as unnecessary. Obtaining a successful biological program is difficult as seen with past attempts by governments. Both the United States and Russia were two of the best equipped countries to develop such weaponry and devoted plentiful resources to their programs. Even with the large influx money, both countries encountered difficult hurdles (Parachini, 2001). If a terrorist organization were to obtain a biological weapon, the support of a state government would be needed. The multiple barriers needed to acquire biological weapons coupled with cheaper, more accessible options dissuades terrorists from perusing biological

Taking a look in history and ignoring weapon effectiveness, biological weapons were created and used frequently. According to Kostadinov & Galabova (2010) biological weapons were used in 700 BC (p. 296). Specific examples in the United States; the British provided smallpox infected blankets to Native Americans and infected clothing created for union troops during the Civil War (p. 297). The intent behind these weapons was to create the utmost fear and devastation of the enemy. Considering biological weapons could be produced without any of today’s technology, the confidence to do so in the 21st century would appear to increase, moreover the attempt most appealing.

For example, in the book, ¨Biological Warfare,¨ the author, Don Nardo, states that if “... airborne anthrax spores are inhaled...One billionth of a gram can kill a one person,” (Nardo 16). So if even one person inhaled a couple spores, it could spread across the world. Some argue a nuke could quickly destroy a city, But a Biochem could quickly destroy a civilization. Additionally, in the article, ¨Pharma Firms aim to Reduce Bio-Warfare Threat,¨ the author states that “...if anthrax spores are processed to form an aerosol...it typically becomes fatal in 50-90% of untreated cases,” (Eldridge and Hollis 1). So essentially a person that’s infected, if not addressed early will spread it and later on die. The U.S. also needs to teach people in the public what symptoms there are and what to do about the person. If people don’t know what most of the chems look like, they will spread a lot

Many of the disadvantages of biological weapons use relate to difficulties in executing an attack. For example, it is difficult to protect workers during the processes of production, transportation, and delivery, while immunization maybe ineffective or simply irrelevant. The danger that biological agents can also affect the health of the aggressor forces, the dependence on prevailing winds and other weather conditions on effective dispersion, the effects of temperature, sunlight, and desiccation on the survivability of some infectious organisms. Also the environmental persistence of some agents, such as spore-forming anthrax bacteria, which can make an, area un inhabitable for long periods, the possibility that secondary aerosols of the agent

Biological weapon can be defined as any kind of organism such as the bacteria, fungi or viruses, or any toxin (poisonous compounds that are produced by organisms) that can be used to kill the host or kill/injure human beings. There are varying acts of bioterrorism ranging from a hoax to actual use of these biological weapons or agents. Of late, a very significant number of countries are pursuing the ownership or possession of biological weapons and there is a growing concern among many nations that there is a possibility of terrorist groups having access to the weapons or the knowledge of making such weapons and using tem to kill an individual or a population (Daniel J Dire, 2011).