Using Chemicals as Weapons in War Essay example

Kim Phu`c, a survivor from the Napalm bombing, says “ Napalm is the most painful thing you can ever imagine, water boils at 212 degrees fahrenheit, Napalm generates temperatures at 1,500 - 2,200 degrees fahrenheit.” Kim had third degree burns all over her body. In 1965-1972, US troops used napalm in the Vietnam; napalm was a mix of plastic polystyrene, hydrocarbon benzene, and gasoline. When all of these substances’ are mixed together it creates a jelly like substance. When napalm is ignited and will stick to just about anything and burn up to ten minutes. The effect of napalm on the human body is unbearably painful and almost always was the cause of death.

Poison Gas/Chemical Warfare usage, while not harming physical structures preventing the collateral damage of homes and buildings, causes a high casualty rate in all living things. It is indescriminate and robs life equally be they related or not to a target of military or strategic importance. Gas usage has been widely considered uncivilized, but the French resorted to its usage in August, 1914 during the first World War in an attempt to rout the Germans. Unfortunately, the Germans were the first to give gas warfare serious development and it became used extensively before the war was over. On the battlefield it prooved effective in eliminating hostile threats in an inhumane way, but this does not make it morally acceptable. In more recent times ISIS has been reported to using Poison Gas in Syria against both military and civilians in an indescriminate manner. This sort of attack ignores international laws as well as inhumanely cause widespread harm. In this day and age, this sort of attack is unnecessary and is why it was outlawed in the first place even back during the first World War.

Chemical warfare, while horrible, proved to be unwieldy and unpredictable, and relatively easy to counter. After some limited successes against unprepared opponents, the use of chemical gas had very little tactical benefit; the recognition of this limited utility is that after widespread use in 1915 - except for the short-lived effects of the introduction of mustard gas in 1917 - gas was abandoned by both sides as an effective tactic.

created to try to deprive North Vietnamese soldiers, or guerillas, of food, cover, and other resources during the war. The U.S. sprayed nearly 20 million gallons in all from 1962 to 1971 in Vietnam, eastern Laos, and parts of Cambodia as part of Operation Ranch Hand. Unfortunately, the effects of Agent Orange did not just hurt the Viet Cong soldiers and the environment, but also many South Vietnam soldiers and U.S. soldiers who had to go through the pesticide infested area. The entire environment that it covered was harmed very substantially and nearly every person who came in contact with it now suffers from an illness or has a very increased risk of nerve, digestive, skin, and respiratory disorders, as well as numerous cancers. The ruminants from the chemical have also had effects on the offspring of veterans with it in their system; anywhere from birth defects to cancers have been reported from the chemical

Today, the Agent Orange case is a serious threat to public health as veterans and generations affected up onto today are still suffering. A large amount "Herbicide Orange" was used in Vietnam has been of major belief to many that contributed to the most tragic environmental and public health problems. Scenarios such as a U.S. troop who was just an electrician said he saw "no action" in the war, decades later this veteran developed Type 2 diabetes. A lot of others experience their scars from this exposure right away, especially the troops who were in the first line of exposure. The newly releases troops complained about skin rashes such as chloracne, cancer of all sorts, other health issues, but one devastating of them all, birth defects in their children. They all believed the spraying of AO have contributed to the root of the issues. Although, the spray was normally diluted with oil and waterways, it is also believed to have long-term effects on rivers and lakes. Also causing the civilians of the affected areas to be a long lasting effect upon them. Agent Orange herbicide was not just an ordinary herbicide. It was mixed with a unique amount of two different components, 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T. The U.S. introduced this chemical as a design to destroy plant life in the war in 1961. It was commonly used to destroy or defoliate dense, forest broad leaf plants, trees, shrubs and food crops. Because the North Vietnamese had a war advantage from heavy jungles and camouflage hiding

Because the Americans wanted a more equal chance in fighting the Vietnamese, scientists developed herbicides that contained toxic chemicals. These herbicides were used from 1961-1975, the most famous being Agent Orange, which was used in Vietnam. In order to successfully get rid of the advantageous foliage of the Vietnamese, however, science had to be applied. The two herbicides 2,4 D and 2,4,5 T were used to do this. The combination of these two herbicides contained high, dangerous amounts of toxins. The specific toxin present in Agent Orange, resulting from the two herbicides was fully known as

Due to their unfamiliarity, many allied troops had little protection against the newly introduced chemical weapon. For instance, the first protective devices against gasses was, “... nothing more than chemical-soaked pads to neutralize the gas.” As a result, many soldiers began to urine in their gauze pad, which actually worked to counteract the gas. However,

Trench warfare was done by opposing army’s creating trenches. In between those trenches was an area known as “no man's land” and was the most dangerous place to be. This tactic lead to many standoffs and also extremely high numbers of casualties in a short period of time. One of the most efficient ways of winning these battles was chemical warfare. All that needed to happen was to throw a chemical bomb into the enemy's trench and then wait.

There are Three chemicals that make the bombs in WWII. One of the Chemicals are Tabun. Nazis forced prisoners to make tubun. Tabun is a chemical that messes with the nerve system. This chemical is also used stun grenades. The chemical was supposed to be a pesticide. Tubun was also used in gas chambers. Another gas used in bombs and in gas chamber is Zyklon B. Chlorine gas was a popular gas in WWI and in WWII. The gas was greenish yellow. It irritates the ears, lungs, nose, and throat. This gas kills its enemies by asphyxiation. This means it cuts off the air flow and chokes them.

Chemical warfare was starting to gain momentum during the First World War After using less than ideal equipment from the British against German forces, the United States needed to gain an edge for fighting into the future to increase their chances at mission success. The United States gained experience with chemical weapons from the First World War and after transitioning from World War I to World War II various improvements were made to enhance the capabilities of the Chemical Weapons Service. Colonel Lewis McBride was directly responsible for changing the Chemical Weapons Service and helped in securing America’s ideals; taking the United States into the future with new and improved chemical weapons technologies.

The purpose of this essay is to deal with the fact that chemical warfare should be brought back to modern warfare strategies. As Warren Rudman said, “And they will tell you unequivocally that if we have a chemical or biological attack or a nuclear attack anywhere in this country, they are unprepared to deal with it today, and that is of high urgency.” Rudman’s words are true in what they say and that we should do everything to counter-act his statement. Biological weapons are a key to outstanding success in war and therefore, I strongly suggest that chemical warfare is an effective and producible weapon tactic that can be used on today’s battlefield.

War, according to the Oxford Dictionary, is “A state of armed conflict between different nations or states or different groups within a nation or state” (citation). War truly does bring out the worst of in the people involved, because in war the objective is to kill or capture enough of the opposing sides’ soldiers to show that your side is superior. Both sides will take any measures necessary to win, a few examples of this being Mustard gas, Ricin, Agent Orange, and Sarin . When guns and other weapons will not cut it, that’s when in the mind of the governments that chemical warfare became necessary . Since these four chemicals and many more have been used throughout history, the Chemical Warfare Convention banned all forms of chemical weapons, due to the lasting effects of the chemicals on both nations and individuals of those nations. The way the CWC defines a chemical weapon is a toxic chemical or its precursor that can cause death, injury, temporary incapacitation or sensory irritation through its chemical action.

These are just a few examples of many accounts of the use of chemical and biological agents in war.

Chemical weapons are toxic gases, which use in the wars such as World War 1. Chemical weapons used in First World War and they killed a lot of people even children. In addition, chemical weapons are unless color, so people can’t see them. Also, most of people who died through the First World War were civilians. Therefore, who were responsible about them? In addition, people who survived had dangerous and permanent diseases such as cancer, asthma … etc. Even people’s genes effected by these toxic gases and they cause a lot of genetic problems that appeared in a second generation. Even soldiers who were pushed to this war. Then, they died or effected who were responsible about their families. In addition chemical weapons burned a lot of trees and they changed plant characteristics. Also, these gases can react with others to change air and weather characteristics. Therefore, chemical weapons effect on our

Japan has long enjoyed the enviable reputation of being one of the safest nations in the world. The country has one of the world lowest rates for murder and other violent crime, and the Japanese National Police Agency and local Police forces are often praised as a model of law enforcement efficiency. Tokyo enjoys one of the cleanest, safest and most efficient subway networks in the world. Trains run on precise schedules and accommodate 2.7 billion passengers a year. All that changed on March 20, 1995. A nightmare unfolded as the city of Tokyo experienced one of the worst terrorist attacks of the century. This is what many considered to be the first true case of use of