Chemical and Biological Weapons Imagine waking up from a good night’s sleep and finding your whole family dead. As you stumble around your house looking for the cause of your family’s death, a strong chemical smell comes over you. It is the stinging smell of chlorine. Everyone agrees no one should have to endure this painful death by chemicals or biological weapons. What most people don’t know is that civilizations have been using this brutal war tactic since the 6th century, in which the Assyrians poisoned enemy wells with a fungus that made the enemy incoherent. Even though most people agree that chemical and biological weapons are horrific, there is a conflicting argument as to whether there should be a total elimination versus the control of these weapons. In order to understand both sides of this conflict one must know what are chemical and biological weapons. A chemical weapon is any weapon that uses a manufactured chemical to kill people. Modern chemical and biological weapons focus on condensed chemical or biological agents, meaning that it takes a lot less of the chemical to kill the same number of people. Whereas, a biological weapon uses a bacteria to kill people. A modern biological weapon would use a strain of bacteria or a virus that would kill thousands of people. The first significant use of chemical and biological weapons were during World War 1, and the world quickly and unanimously decided that these weapons went too far. The problem that started today’s conflict on the elimination versus the control of chemical and biological weapons is that terrorists and rogue leaders don't pay attention to international treaties. Proponents for the elimination of chemical and biological we... ... middle of paper ... ...l and biological weapons no matter what. They argue that having the control to use these weapons will level the playing field if the need ever arises. The regulation or elimination of chemical and biological weapons has huge societal impacts going into the future. Both sides of this argument greatly understand the severity of these weapons. There usage not only impacts certain regions, but the whole world. The usage of chemical and biological weapons will continue to be a controversial topic because there will be technological advances that make the chemicals and organisms much more deadly. Now is the time to understand and make decisions on the use of chemical and biological weapons before it gets out of hand. However, human civilization has had these “moral’’ arguments from the beginning of time and solving them will be one of our greatest challenges.
Guillemin, J. (2005). Biological weapons: From the invention of state-sponsored programs to contemporary bioterrorism Columbia University Press.
Looking back at how the chemical weaponry expanded starting in the beginning of World War 1, it all began with Tear gas which was used by the French in August of 1914. Those techniques have been used in ancient times. Moving forward eight months in to the war the Germans have been giving great study in to the development of chemical weapons due to the first usage from the French and witnessed its great effectiveness and were the first to use it in a large scale.
Almost thirty years after the last troops were pulled out of what was then South Vietnam, its effects are still felt in today’s society. It is hard not to find someone who’s life has not been affected because of this war. One of the most controversial decisions made in the war was to use chemicals to fight the enemy. The most boradly used chemiucal was called Agent Orange. Some people agreed with the use of Agent Orange. They saw it as a very viable weapon that needed to be used in order to keep the Communist from taking control of South Vietnam and subverting their democratic government. Many others disapproved of its use. They knew, correctly, that it would severely devastate the landscape of Vietnam and would forever ruin the land for agricultural use. They also knew of the harmful effect it would have once adults and children came in contact with the harmful chemicals that form the chemical make up of Agent Orange. Once the first bombs carrying Agent Orange were dropped there was no going back. For some people the use of Agent Orange changed their whole opinion of the war and what we were really fighting for. Pictures showing burns and disfigurement were soon to hit the presses. Once the American public could see exactly what was happening and how the civilian life was being treated impacted many people so much that they could no longer support what the United States was doing over in Vietnam. The goal of this paper is to show how the use of Agent Orange changed many people’s perspective of the war in Vietnam.
The two chemical weapons that were used were: nerve agent and mustard gas. Nerve agent has two main classes that are Class G and Class V. Class V is more new, however less fatal. The specific nerve agent used by the Iraqis is Cyclosarin. Cyclosarin is an extremely toxic substance used as a chemical weapon, which is a member of Class G. Cyclosarin is the most dangerous gas out of both classes. It is known to have a sweet smell and is also flammable unlike other nerve gases. Mustard gas on the other hand is yellow and smells like garlic. Both gases cause death in minutes and have long lasting effects. These can include diseases and other horrible problems. Many of these diseases cannot be cured, for the cells have been damaged and cannot be repaired.
...ive and more powerful if these weapons were in action. With these facts stated, I believe that chemical warfare should be un-ban and affectively used in today’s warfare.
Clark, D. K. (1959). The Species of the World. Effectiveness of chemical weapons in WWI. Bethesda, Md. -. Operations Research Office, Johns Hopkins University.
Pita, R. (2009). Toxin weapons: From World War I to jihadi terrorism. Toxin Reviews, 28(4), 219-237. doi:10.3109/1556950903246136
Advancements in technology and science contributed to one of the most gory and bloodiest wars in the annals of human existence. These new technological advancements revolutionized how people regarded war. War was no longer where the opposite forces fought in a coordinated battle. War evolved into a game of cunning strategy where the side with the bigger, more powerful, and smarter toys played better. This led to a fierce competition where each side tried to create the smarter machines and better weapons, leading to deadly mass killing weapons in the process.
I consider the ‘Nine Years’ War’ to be compared to the war in Afghanistan. The biochemical warfare is used in both worlds. Our civilization today is concerned and scared. If the truth were hidden, as to the “Brave New World” maybe our society would be happy, too.
Broyles, Janell. Chemical and Biological Weapons in a Post-9/11 World. New York: Rosen Pub. Group, 2005. Print.
The National Rifle Association generally believes that if more ordinary, law-abiding citizens carried weapons, criminals would not have a safe place to commit mass murders and other violent crimes.
Before we start, what exactly is a biological substance? As defined in Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary (Biological, 2014) Biological means of or relating to life and living things. Since the beginning of time there have been biological substances. Think of the flu virus in the early 1900’s, it killed thousands of people. The pathogens that make up this virus multiplied over and over until eventually there was an uncontrollable epidemic throughout the United States (Steinbruner, 1997). Many of us think that the influenza virus was an epidemic that will never happen again but then came other biological agents such as smallpox and the deadly anthrax virus. We’ve come to the realization now that biological substances are the weapons of choice. Yes we do have nuclear and chemical weapons that threaten our society, but these weapons aren’t alive. We must pay greater attention to certain toxins that Americans are injecting into their bodies on a daily basis.
In conclusion, it is clear that a biological weapon is wrong. When Saddam Hussein threatened to turn the Persian Gulf War into “the mother of all wars” the world shook with the possible implications. The United States managed to divert the course of the war such as this did not happen. In other situation these results have not been as successful, unfortunately, and many people have suffered and died. I hope that civilization is moving towards total illumination of biological weaponry.
Today, any involvement with super weapons is closely monitored. Any country that operates, researches, or funds super weapons. The ethical issue involving engineering weapons is “when is it too much?” Weapons have evolved from being just an item for protection, to now having the capacity to annihilate an entire country. Many argue that having a single weapon that could eliminate an entire country is extreme, because the weapon not only eliminates the enemy, but also many innocent civilians....
Warfare is what led to the creation and manufacturing of firearms all over the world. Firearms made war less savage and protected soldiers in battle without them needing to even get close to their enemy. In today’s society, guns have reached far past being used in warfare, being used to murder, steal, and threaten. People are terrified now more than ever because of guns falling into the wrong hands. Although guns have many cons, they have many advantages to back them up in recent protests against them.