Essay on Terrorism: Its Forms and Effects

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).

Terrorism is a frightening reality that all people in today’s world must face. While some areas of the world are facing terrorism more than others nearly are regions and all people are facing the violence and devastating effects of terrorism in one form or another.

Chemical terrorism is the use of natural or synthetic substances such as mustard gas to kill a group of civilians (Freedmen 1). There is also such thing as bioterrorism. Bioterrorism is the use of a biological weapon against a civilian population such as smallpox and fungus (Hoyel 1). Chemical and biological terrorism is very dangerous because it intends to kill a lot of people at a time. Terrorists can get their hands on chemicals but it is much easier for them to get biologics (biological agents) because they are harder to detect and are cheaper to make.

Bioterrorism can easily target citizens by poisoning food and water supplies. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration a.k.a. OSHA stated that there’s over 250 different foodborne diseases and illnesses, and are often mislabeled as food poisoning. These diseases can be potentially fatal to those inflicted. In the article “A Discussion of Findings and Their Possible Implications from a Workshop on Bioterrorism Threat Assessment and Risk Management”, Bruce Hope states that it’s possible to analyze the agricultural and food industries by making fake scenarios of potential threats. This analysis of America’s system can allow for professionals to better secure food supplies and ensure that bioterrorism is less likely of impacting the population. Defense measures can make these buildings invulnerable, or nearly so (Zilinskas, 906). Another method of defense against bioterrorism is vaccination. According to Rebecca Katz in “Public Health Preparedness: The Best Defense Against Biological Weapons” she argues that vaccination is a plausible method of defense against bioterrorism if necessary. She also states “[vaccines] are part of a preattack defense and a postattack containment” (Katz, 177). These vaccinations can aid people in case of smallpox and anthrax, both of which are viable threats to biosecurity. The article also states that while more research is necessary to improve the currently available vaccines, it’s a necessary component of preparing for bioterrorism. Katz states “In order to avoid chaos during an event, development and dissemination prior to an attack of vaccine priority and distribution plans is essential. These plans should incorporate the best methods for controlling the spread of disease, saving the most lives, and ensuring the utility of

Frighteningly, not all biological weapons are made by man, but many, and some of the deadliest, of the weapons are found in nature. Many of the viruses that have plagued humanity come from exposure to fleas and other vermin, certain plants, or fungi. Biological threats are classified into three categories based on severeness. Class A weapons are the most dangerous with the highest mortality and infection rate. The classes go down to C, which are naturally found toxins or infections that can be engineered to be a threat to society. In 2001, shortly after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, anthrax laced letters were received from presumable terrorists. Anthrax, a class A weapon, is a spore producing bacterium known as Bacillus anthracis that is usually acquired from anthrax infected cattle or meat products, but is now receiving heightened attention for its use as a biological weapon (Biological). Class B weapons are the second highest priority since they are

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.

Bioterrorism is the deliberate release of viruses, bacteria, toxins or other harmful agents to cause illness or death in people, livestock, or crops. These agents are typically found in nature, but could be mutated or altered to increase their ability to cause disease, make them resistant to current medicines, or to increase their ability to be spread into the environment. Bacillus anthracis is one of the most popular agents to be used in a bioterrorism attack. Anthrax could be used in many forms, for example, it can be placed into letters and mailed, much like the 2001 anthrax attack, anthrax can be released into the air where the spores can be easily blown by the wind and inhaled or can be carried around on objects such as people’s clothes to which it has

Bioterrorism is directly focused on the livestock and crops, which are valuable sources of food. The agroterrorism attack in the U.S. has started an economic warfare, which can turn fatal to most Americans. Economic warfare has calculated of being damaging to the

What is Bioterrorism? What are the types of Bioterrorism? What issues or concerns should we be aware of when talking about Bioterrorism? How is Bioterrorism different from the United States and that of Guam? These are some of the things people would think of and wonder when they hear the word Bioterrorism. It’s important to know the different steps or precautions that a person can look into in order to prevent themselves from being a victim of Bioterrorism. First things first, Bioterrorism is defined as the intentional release of toxic biological agents to harm and terrorize civilians, in the name of a political or other cause. The history of Bioterrorism goes way back. According to the Terrorism Issues and Homeland Security, there have always been efforts to use germs and disease as weapons. The reported risk has led the U.S. government to expend immense resources for bio-defense in the early part of the 21st century. According to Right Diagnosis from health grades, there was a list of the different types of Bioterrorism and they are: Anthrax, Salmonella, Glanders, Melioidosis, and Smallpox.

In this day and age, it is surprisingly easy to obtain or create a bomb. On the black market alone, nuclear smuggling is a 100 billion dollar industry (havocscope). Of course, bombs are deadly and nations must always be diligent in guarding against nuclear terrorist attacks, but what about smaller, more undetectable threats to our lives? There are trillions of bacteria and fungi in the world, and possibly just as many viruses. Currently the CDC lists approximately 29 potentially weaponizable biological agents, ranging from Ebola to the Nipah virus. They are rather easy to come by in nature and some of them are easily synthesized in a laboratory, such as influenza, which has the

Biological weapons cannot, without explosive components, destroy structures. Nuclear weapons can level entire parts of a city. Nuclear weapons however cannot target specific groups of people within the impact zone whereas biological agents can be deployed in an enclosed space, reducing the number of deaths but targeting only a specific group. This may be important when considering the terrorists constituents. Do they want targeted attacks against only government or military personnel? Would they rather see a high death toll? Terrorist organizations are not typically simply causing death, they are advancing a political or religious ideal that may have limitations that shy away from indiscriminant

It can also be used to harm animals and agricultural crops in order to cause financial damage and/ or famine. “Bioterrorism aims to create casualties, terror, societal disruption, or economic loss, inspired by ideological, religious or political beliefs” (Jansen, Breeveld, Stijnis, & Grobusch, 2014, pg. 490). The disease agents that are used in bioterrorism can be naturally occurring or man-made. When the agents are man-made, they can be mutated or altered to increase their ability to cause disease, to spread more readily, or to make the agents resistant to medicine. The agents can be released in the air, in water supplies, or in food supplies. A benefit for terrorists in using biological agents is that it can be difficult to detect that a biological attack has occurred, and that many disease agents may not cause illness immediately; it may take hours or days for symptoms to appear which helps in the spread of the disease. Another benefit to the use of biological agents is that they are easy and inexpensive to obtain, they can be easily disseminated, and they cause widespread fear as well as physical

Bioterrorism is defined according to Centers of Disease Control & Prevention as “deliberate release of viruses, bacteria, or other germs (agents) used to cause illness or death in people, animals, or plants” (CDC, 2007). Going into history, it can be said that bioterrorism is not a recent phenomenon, since it has been practiced as a war tactic in middle ages, many European wars and in the World Wars (Riedel 2004; Wheelis 2002).In the North American context, it is pertinent to mention about the Siege of Fort Pitt. A British commander by the name of Amherst, has been alleged to order distribution of blankets to Native Americans, which were previously contaminated by small pox patients(Riedel, 2004).It is also reported that many countries were involved in developing biological weapons program both in World War I

Bioterrorism is “the deliberate use of a biological organism- such as a virus or bacterium as a weapon to debilitate or kill one’s enemies in an act of war” (Langwith). Bioterrorism is not a modern emergent concern public health concern. It has been a potential threat to us throughout the years with progressive health and technology advances. With these advances, even normal everyday can initiate a devastating bioterrorism attack. Today, the question is whether we are prepared to face such a bioterrorism attack and survive with a very low mortality rate with minimal casualties. We need to take a look at emergency preparedness and responses in case of a bioterrorism attack and assess the results.

From the lips of the FBI, “Terrorism is the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objective.” On September 11, 2001 the United States of America experienced such actions, it was the largest terror attack experienced by any country. The affect this had on America was tremendous,