Biolgical Warfare Essay, Research Paper
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 that irritate the lungs, and mustard gas cause burns. After
experimenting with these chemicals, they tried flame throwers but they were ineffective
because of their short range. But that later led to napalm. Napalms kind of like gas only
longer burning, more thick and it?s stickier and this is a deadly combination. All of this
stuff led to the wide use of fire for World War II (1939-1945).
By the end of W.W.I, European powers have integrated gas warfare capabilities
into their armies artillery. During W.W.II, Germany was working on many different things.
Such as nerve gases, the atomic bomb, and Adolf Hitler had scientists work on
something to increase longevity. At the end of W.W.II every country knew about the
advantages of deadly gases than conventional shoot outs and destructive bombs.
Gases such as tear gas have been used in limited wars since W.W.II, such as in the
Vietnam War; tear gas is also employed by civilian police forces to stop riots. The more
deadly gases such as mustard gas and nerve gas has generally been condemned by most
countries. Such weapons do remain in some arsenals, but treaties have gotten rid of
them. There is evidence that Iraq used these weapons in the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s
and that allied troops may have been exposed to these gases during the Persian Gulf
War of 1991.
Various chemicals, such as Agent Orange, that alter the metabolism of plant and
cause them to die have been employed in modern jungle warfare to reduce the enemy?s
cover and let troops march in without the fear of being ambushed. Later it was found
that Agent Orange harmed everything that was near it. It killed plants, went into the
human?s lungs, and into streams and killed fish. This was very devastating to the
ecosystem.
The Hague Conference of 1899 made an attempt to outlaw projectiles carrying
poison gases; the agreement to this effect lasted only until W.W.I. In Geneva in 1925 a
League of Nations protocol against chemical and biological war was signed; it was not,
however, ratified by the United States until 1975. The treaty outlaws the first use of
such weapons in warfare, but nations generally reserve the right to use them in
retaliation. Agreements totally banning chemical warfare have proved difficult to
achieve.
A treaty totally banning biological warfare was drawn up by the Geneva Disarmament
Conference in 1971 and approved by the United Nations General Assembly. Some 80
nations signed the Biological Weapons Convention, which the United States ratified in
1974. This treaty is unique because it outlaws a whole class of weapons by most of the
world. Its effectiveness, however, is still questionable; progress in genetic engineering has
also complicated this issue. At the Bush-Gorbachev summit in June 1990, a treaty was
signed providing for both the United States and USSR to reduce stockpiles of chemical
weapons. In May 1991, 19 industrial nations–including the United States-commited to
adopt controls on the export of 50 common chemicals used to manufacture these
weapons.
Anthrax is a contagious disease of warm-blooded animals, including humans,
caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. One of the oldest known diseases, it was
once epidemic and still appears in many world areas, but only rarely in the western and
southern United States. It was the first disease for which the in the wrong organism
was isolated, by 0. J. Davaine in 1863, for which a pure culture was obtained, by Robert
Koch in 1876, and for which an effective vaccine was developed, by Louis Pasteur in 1881.
Animals got the disease from drinking water from contaminated dirt, in which the
organism may live for years; from eating infected carcasses and feedstuffs; and from
the bites of bloodsucking insects. The disease, sometimes manifested by staggering,
bloody discharge, convulsions, and suffocation, may be fatal almost immediately in
particular cases and within three to five days in some cases. Death is caused by
toxemia. Preseasonal inoculations and antibiotics are effective.
In humans, the disease appear’s in both outside and inside forms, with a death
rate of about 20 percent. The external form is contracted through cuts in the skin by
those who handle infected hides and carcasses and may be self-limiting, but often gets
into the bloodstream, with fever and exhaustion. It is characterized by malignant
pustules on exposed skin areas. The inside type is acquired by inhaling anthrax cells, as
from animal hair and wool, which take over the lungs and sometimes the intestinal tract
to cause lose blood. It is speculated that an intestinal variety may be caused by
consuming contaminated meat or milk. Workers exposed to animal products, especially
wool, are protected by vaccination. Penicillin is effective in treatment except in rapidly
progressing cases.
The worst outbreak of anthrax occurred in 1979, when a biological weapons plant in
Sverdlovsk, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (present-day Yekaterinburg) released an
aerosol form of the anthrax pathogen. The source of this exposure, which killed 66
people, was publicly denied until 1994.
In conclusion, biological weaponry are very deadly and can kill 100?s of millions of
people without them knowing what?s going on. At least it doesn?t destroy buildings. So
when we drop the big one, later intelligent species can dig up entire buildings and dead
bodies.