The Pros And Cons Of A Biological Weapon

Biological warfare is war waged with deadly chemicals, biological agents, or radioactive materials (CBR). They can be used to kill large amounts of people, destroy food, or just temporarily stun them for a matter of time so troops can come in and torture them or do whatever troops led by an manipulative tyrant who destroys everything. Using CBR, allowed you to kill everything and leave the buildings standing instead of nuclear weapons which destroy everything, put fallout in the air, and have radioactive materials wash into the ground and streams. Using deadly chemicals in war has been going on since the early 1900’s during World War I (1914-1918). Chemicals such as tear gas, chlorine gas, phosgene, and mustard gas. The first 3 are things

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 fact, the former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director James Woolsey has stated that creating a biological weapon is as easy as producing beer and that even a good chemistry high school student is capable of creating a biological weapon (Gerstein, 2010). Moreover, with the increase of natural viruses such as Ebola, terrorists could carry out a biological attack without the need of having to use any technology (Cenciarelli et al., 2015). They could simply travel to the country where a transmittable natural virus is occurring and they could get infected on purpose; then, all they have to do is travel back to their target location and intentionally spread the transmittable virus among large crowds of people (Cenciarelli et al.,

Biological threats to the homeland are one of six strategic challenges outlined in The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) 2014 Quadrennial Homeland Security Review. Biological threats are sometimes viewed as underrated threat to homeland security compared to the threat of terrorism and nuclear weapons. The following will explain the nature the threat of biological weapons pose on the homeland and the ongoing steps the federal government is implementing to meet this challenge.

Anthrax is indeed a pathogen to be feared. As you stated, easy and inexpensive to cultivate it makes for an ideal biological weapon of choice. One good thing about anthrax, is that as long as the pathogen has been around, it has allowed medical science time to create a licensed vaccine (DHS 2004, n.p.). However contaminated soil can remain a biological threat for many years. The cost of mass vaccinations, antibiotic treatment for those afflicted, as well as decontamination of the attack site (including down wind areas) and soil would be staggering. The entire area possibly rendered "off limits" for months. A terrible scenario if you launch near Wall Street as your "top of a building in a major city" statement (Foster 2015).

As you can see from Chernobyl, and other places, nuclear explosives are no joke, and could back fire and explode at any moment. With the strength that they are built with, that could be a problem, especially if there are others nearby, which could cause a chain reaction, or total antihalation. The thing is, with more and more nuclear bombs being produced, and the more easy they are becoming to make, people like Isis could get ahold of them, and they could use nuclear bombs as weapons, which is a scary thought. This is why I think nuclear bombs should be left out of wars, and kept on 24 hour super secure lockdown.

Bioterrorism and Biowarfare are emerging threats for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to learn how to prepare for, and respond to. In actuality, bioterrorism and biowarfare have been around for hundreds of years, but since the anthrax attacks in 2001, it has been brought to the forefront of fighting terrorism for the United States. With the advancement of biotechnology and biochemistry, the threat of a bioterrorist attack on American soil is real and possibly imminent. DHS has had to improve their biopreparedness and find ways to rapidly respond to bioterrorist attacks. A brief history on bioterrorism and biowarfare will help to better understand DHS’ role in preparing for, and responding to bioterrorism.

“Bioterrorism is not only a reality of the times in which we live but bioweapons have been used for centuries” (Christian, 2013). Biological warfare is a high impact, asymmetrical threat in which the weapon can fit in a small test tube. “Critical care physicians play a major role in the recognition of and response to a bioterrorism attack” (Christian, 2013). Silent weapons such as infectious diseases like smallpox and poisons like ricin are viewed by terrorist as an ideal weapon to create

Bioterrorism is a deliberate release of viruses in the enemy’s territory to cause terror in a community and make the people lose faith in their government. People have been doing this for a long time, people used to just hurl barrels of poisonous snakes at their enemies and they would also send dead bodies that have died from diseases and hope that it would spread, but now it is much more advanced. Scientists fear that enemies will be able to weaponize diseases such as smallpox and Ebola to use against us and since they usually mutate the diseases they will likely be even more deadly and more likely to kill more people. I feel that no one, not even America, should use diseases to get ahead in the war.

While there are a great amount of advantages to the developments of biological synthetic engineering, the disadvantages are a pressing matter as well. As biological engineering develops, the sequences with which the scientists work are becoming more complex(pbs.org). The sequences are still simple enough, however, to be followed by just about anyone who knows things about science. Therefore if they are given to people who are not meant to obtain them they can be used to create very dangerous objects. The federal government has spoken about the possibility of bioterrorist attacks and the spreading of diseases that have been contained but do not actively have cures, such as the bird flu and smallpox. Because of the many possible uses of the advancement of biological engineering, it continues to be approached with much caution, for the safety of the American people(pbs.org).

There have been many cases of bioterrorism, but one of the main cases occurred in 1984 in the United States. Some of the followers of a religious group wanted three seats in their local court. Worried that they might not win the seats, the followers decided to use Salmonella to incapacitate the voting population, so they can win the seats. It was inserted into salads at a very popular salad bar in the area. 751 people were infected in this attack, but no one died (Wikipedia, 2016). Terrorists can now use the simplest of things to get to us, but the source of it is the virus. Lawrence showed us how a genetically-modified measles virus, originally designed as a cure for cancer, turned into a virus and nearly wiped out the worldwide population. But, what if this was done on purpose? When comparing the number of cancer patients to the American population, the cancer patients take up less than 1% of the whole population. However, measles is contagious, so the real percentage of those who would be affected would be higher than 1% (American Cancer Society, 2016). So, if this “cure” was made with the intention of wiping out a population, this would have been a great success to

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

In 1984, members of the Rajneeshee, a Buddhist cult, created the biological agent salmonella and contaminated the salad bar at Shakey's Pizza in The Dalles, Ore. They also contaminated blue-cheese dressing, table-top coffee creamers and potato salads at 10 local restaurants and a supermarket. They poured it into a glass of water and handed it to a judge. They used the biological agent against the district attorney, a doctor, and a dentist. Their plan was to seize control of the county government by packing polling booths with imported homeless people while making local residents too sick to vote (Time 2001, para.1). That attack was a practice run for a massive attempt to incapacitate Oregon voters by slipping bacteria into the water supply (NY Daily News 2013, para. 18). Is this a biological agent a threat to our homeland today, or not?

“Terrorists imitate governments, and nuclear weapons are in the arsenals of the world’s major powers. That makes them ‘legitimate.’ Chemical and biological weapons also may be found in the arsenals of many nations, but their use has been widely condemned by public opinion and proscribed by treaty, although in recent years the constraints against use seem to be eroding.” 1

Bacillus causes anthrax; it is one of the most deadly bio weapons. Anthrax is classified as a class A endangerment according to the CDC. It poses a significant risk to nation security. The gram positive, rod shaped anthrax spores are naturally in soil. It can be produced in a lab; it lasts long in the environment. Bacillus has been a biological weapon for over a century; it’s been mixed before with powders, sprays, food, and water. It is invisible, infectious, odorless, and tasteless. Spores make anthrax a very flexible bio weapon. Letters were once sent out from the US postal system in 2001. It affected a total of 22 people in which 5 died.