Biological Weapons and Warfare

Warfare waged with biological agents that have been placed in weapons. Biological warfare entails the use of pathogens, or disease-causing organisms or substances. These pathogens may be living organisms, such as the bacterium that causes anthrax; viruses, like the one that causes smallpox; or toxins that have been processed from microbes or extracted from plants, such as ricin from the castor bean. To be used effectively, these agents must then be weaponized, or designed into efficient delivery systems so that sufficient quantities are inhaled, ingested, or make surface contact in quantities that can incapacitate, injure, or kill.

Uses of Biological Weapons

Biological weapons can be used against an army or a civilian population, livestock or work animals, crops or jungle cover. Often the goal of biological warfare is not to cause large numbers of casualties, but to sow confusion and fear, and to cost the enemy significant time and resources. Creating mass casualties, but not fatalities, can force the enemy to spend precious time and resources in caring for the wounded.

Preparation for biological attacks—even those that never come—can degrade the overall fighting ability of troops and distract commanders' attention from other urgent tasks. Being “suited up” in protective gear makes even simple tasks, such as shouting a command, communicating by radio, or operating a computer, more problematic. The mere act of donning full chemical and biological warfare protective gear can cause a percentage of personnel to panic. The ensuing chaos and confusion can lead to the abandonment of positions and weapons, a lack of focus, and failures in communication and command structures. Therefore, even the threat of biological attack can be a very potent weapon.

Because of the nature of the threat of biological warfare, a nation-state as well as a small terrorist organization or religious cult armed with biological weapons can neither be trifled with nor ignored by other nations. Chemical weapons have been called a kind of “poor man's atomic bomb.” The same can be said of biological weapons.

Acquiring Biological Weapons

In most cases, acquiring biological weapons requires both the purchase of the seed stock—the biological agent itself—and the subsequent development of the weapons from this agent. The initial outlay of infrastructure, equipment, and technology needed to develop biological warfare capability is relatively inexpensive and accessible. However, significant technical barriers must be overcome. A seed culture must be obtained. Some agents occur naturally, and can be extracted from the environment (such as anthrax). Other, better ways to secure the hardiest and most virulent strains of a given organism are to steal it from a research institute, public health facility, hospital or university laboratory, or to legitimately purchase it from a supplier. In addition, safety for workers requires some sort of physical protections against exposure to the [Page 77]agent, though these protections need not be especially sophisticated.

Although many nations today are attempting to guard the stocks of potential biological warfare agents more closely, these rules are not consistently applied by all countries or suppliers. Until recently, for example, samples that could be used as seed stocks for organisms like anthrax, botulism, and gangrene, were still available on the open market from reputable suppliers. As late as 1998, British journalists were able to obtain a sample of botulism toxin for about $25 from a company in the Czech Republic.

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