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This story was printed from Terrorism,
located at /27393/dreamwvr/terrorism/introduction1.htm
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INTRODUCTION
This just in. The Center for Disease Control has just declared a
state of emergency in Salt Lake City, Utah. Doctors have yet to determine the
cause of the outbreak but victims of the illness reported having very high
fevers followed by a dry cough and runny nose.
A few of the victims developed open sores on their face and neck and one of them
has fallen into a deep coma. Investigators have discovered that all those that
affected all attended the Utah Jazz – Chicago Bulls basketball game at the
Delta Center last weekend. Authorities have asked that anyone attending that
game to immediately seek medical attention. If you have experienced any of the
symptoms described earlier, please go to the hospital at once.
This is a terrifying, yet probable description of what an attack by a crazed
madman using biological weapons might sound like. The reality is indeed
frightening. A single ounce of Anthrax released into the central air
conditioning system of an indoor stadium could infect around 80000 spectators
within an hour while an aerosol attack on a densely populated area, such as New
York would result in over 600000 deaths.
There are many factors pointing to an increase in the use of biological and
chemical weapons by terrorists. The first is the development of a binary weapon.
Essentially, this is a weapon in which the agent is stored as two precursor
chemicals that only need to be combined to form the lethal final product.
Individually, both precursors are harmless. But when combined, the ensuing
chemical reaction produces a deadly weapon. In this way, some sort of time delay
can be rigged and so the terrorist could be far, far away by the time the lethal
agent is manufactured.
Another factor is the proliferation of both biological and chemical weapons by
rogue nations that have a history of militant behavior. Libya, Iraq, Iran, North
Korea are a few that come to mind.
These countries maintain friendly ties with terrorists (Bin Ladin has close ties
with Sadam Hussein) and thus can be considered possible sources of chemical and
biological agents for terrorists.
Along with the expected increase in terrorist activity, we are likely to see
terrorists using more diverse pathogenic agents and perhaps even maybe
genetically engineered ones as well. By altering the protein coat on viruses, a
clever terrorist might be able to make viruses such as Ebola or Hanta airborne,
increasing their deadliness tenfold.
Furthermore, most of the anti-terrorism initiative carried out have been focused
on combating more common events such as the odd high jacking or hostage
situation thus leaving the government unprepared to deal with a chemical or
biological attack.
Traditional terrorists wanted political concessions, you know, ("Free our
Great Leader who is in prison for drunk driving") but now, their primary
gcvoal is mass casualties ("We want lots and lots of people dead").
That makes using biological weapons extremely attractive.
Lastly, and perhaps most significantly of all, there has been a breach in the
invisible barrier that has kept terrorists from using such weapons in the past.
There has always been fear and uncertainty in using such weapons ("Oh gee,
what if I spill the stuff and die") but now, ever since the Sarin gas
attack in the Tokyo Subway not too long ago, the threshold of restraint has been
significantly lowered.
One possible scenario is that if one terrorist group realizes how simple,
effective and easy it is to carry out such an operation and conducts a series of
biological attacks, other such groups might be tempted to follow suit. Well, if
you can’t beat them, join them. Soon, we might get all sorts of crazed
lunatics spraying biological agents in the air.
Once these underground organizations realize that it is well within their power
to manufacture and develop these weapons. There is very little that can be done
to apprehend this menace.
Becoming a biological terrorist may not be as hard as many people think. Sure,
it’s not exactly a wise career move (Most terrorist organizations neither have
dental nor retirement plans), but if you have a liking for hours of research,
dedicated experimenting, playing god, wanton violence, organized and
indiscriminate murder, that sort of thing, do give Sadam Hussein a ring and
schedule an interview.
Hiding a nuclear weapons program is difficult and downright messy. How many uses
of Uranium-235 are there? However, hiding a makeshift lap is child’s play.
Within an hour, the lab can be cleared of anything suspicious and if nosy
neighbors ask why you have a large vat in your backyard, you can tell them that
you’re making beer. Even mass production of pathogens can be done on a small
scale. A small vial of microorganisms can yield a huge number in less than a
week. For some diseases, such as Anthrax.
Even inhaling a few thousand bacteria--which would cover an area smaller than
the period at the end of this sentence, can be fatal. Anthrax can be grown to
mass quantities within 4 days and the level of expertise needed to carry out
such an operation is also much lower when compared to the level of expertise
required for making a nuclear bomb.
A lot of the techniques, procedures and shortcuts can be found in any good
biology textbook (I have yet to see a Bio Terrorism for Dummies book, though).
These factors came to light when the French Police raided a suspected "safe
house" for German Red Army fugitives and found in the bathroom cultures of
Bacillus anthracis growing in huge jugs. Only with BW do we need to consider how
easy it is to possess, but how hard it is to control. Nowadays, experts aren’t
asking if a biological attack will happen, but when. Perhaps we should buy
invest in companies producing gas masks, no?
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