History of Biological Warfare Essay

Biological state of war, withal c altogethered germ war is the practise of bacteria, toxins, virus or pestilential beingness by the military as weapons of war against the foe. This means that a small quantity of these microorganisms have the cogency to kill millions of people if spread evenly and effectively. These biologic weapons can excessively ca expenditure sickness to enemy soldiers and disrupt enemys logistics and turn in lines. Although biological state of war as such has hitherto not interpreted place on a large scale, yet assuming and apprehending its verisimilar occurrence, more nations have built their individual defensive strategies to be on the safe side.On the basis of this assumption and probability, much research for the purpose of defense against biological weapons has been conducted by the scientists, highly sensitive industries and the governments. hardly since carrying step to the fore germ-warf ar against humanity or using malign bacteria or o rganism against human beings was considered entirely inhumane, an international treaty banning biological weapons came into squelch in 1975. By virtue of this treaty, production, possession, and use of such weapons were polish offly prohibited. to a greater extent than 150 nations signed this treaty.Deadly Forms of state of war in History The institution of biological warf atomic number 18 is traced back in ancient durations, when the Assyrians, in sixth century B. C poisoned enemy wells with poisonous herbs (eukaryotes or fungi) that c apply the enemy lose sanity or consciousness. This was the starting point of biological warf atomic number 18 in human history. Thence onward this typical warfare was utilise by many in the past e. g. Solon of Athens poisoned the urine supply of Phocaea with extremely poisonous herb Veratrum, during his citys military blockade the archers of Scythian, during 4th century B. C.poisoned the tips of arrows to cause infection into the wounds of ene my the S set outans utilise process during the Peloponnesian warfare in 400 B. C. In medieval times, soldiers utilise to throw dead bodies into the wells. During the Indian-French wars in1689 and 1763, blankets employ by smallpox patients were given to Indians for carrying the disorder to the latter. It was Germany, which, during World War I, used poisonous botch for the first time against Allied forces at Belgium and Ypres. The use of poisonous louse up pedal by Germany caused close to 30 percent of casualties suffered by the US army.The use of poisonous be adrift proved so fatal and devastating in nature that many nations unanimously agreed to ban the use of gas and extremely harmful chemical substance substance substances in future wars. But again it was Iraq which breached the agreement and used chemical weapons against Iran in eight years long war (1980-1988). Iraq was also held responsible for using chemical weapons against the independence seeking Kurdish people. co mparatively New Forms of Warfare approximately of the new courses of warfare that have belatedly engaged nations in the design, technique and art of modern warfare allow in 1. Chemical Warfare 2. Biological Warfare 3. Radiological Warfare4. mine Warfare 5. irregular Warfare 6. Amphibious Warfare 7. Psychological warfare 8. Siege Warfare 9. Nuclear Warfare From the above forms of warfare, the chemical, radiological, and biological warfare are singled out as ones in which CBR weapons are used for mass killing disabling millions of people instantly, transmitting fatal diseases into enemy rank and file incapacitating the enemy physically, and destroying their food supplies. How do they hunt down? Chemical Warfare Chemical Warfare involves all those chemical substances which mask the nervous as well as the respiratory systems, besides impact skin, eyes, and nose.The chemicals, which acknowledge gases, liquids, and powders, can be sprayed from strainplanes, dropped as bombs, fire d in the form of artillery shells, or spread over the scene of action through dirt mines. But there are some colorless and odorless ticker agents which, if inhaled, can cause immediate death while some chemical agents can cause temporary blindness or confusion. The mustard gas also called Blister Agent caused many casualties during World War I. But it is quite relieving to see the chemical agents not widely used in warfare since the end of World War I (1918). Radiological WarfareRadiological Warfare involves those substances that give off radiation, and which may damage the inseparable organs of a person and even cause death. Radiological warfare is extremely dangerous because the released radioactivity in the process renders the entire area unfit for human life. Mine Warfare Mine Warfare is the use of explosive devices called mines to kill enemy soldiers and destroy their ships, tanks, and another(prenominal) equipment. Some mines explode when a person steps on them or infl uence over by a tank or jeep, while the nautical mines are detonated by the passing of a ship. The two major kinds of mines are1. The Land Mines 2. The Naval Mines The main types of land mines are1) antipersonnel mines, 2) defensive mines, 3) chemical mines, 4) controlled mines, and 5) nuclear mines. There chief four kinds of marine mines include 1) acoustic mines, 2) contact mines, 3) magnetic mines, and 4) pressure mines Guerrilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is conducted by the fighter bands that employ the tactics of sudden raids, ambushes, and other attacks on small-scale. The term Guerrilla which means Little War in Spanish, was first used by the Portuguese and Spanish armies during the Peninsular War (1808-1814).Amphibious warfare Amphibious warfare is the mode of army trading operations by land air and sea forces with the objective of capturing a coastal area or a beach. Generally the amphibious operations are considered the most intricate form of modern warfare. During Worl d War II (1939-1945), after Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor and destroyed US naval installations in the Pacific Ocean, a common objective of United States amphibious warfare was to seize islands in order to build their advance on. These air and naval bases were captured for their operations against Japan.Antidotes for Biological Weapons The antidote for biological agents is a complete kit which contains medicines and treatments for nerve gas. It also contains injectors to fight anthrax, and antibiotics and drugs to reduce the effects of radiation exposure. Normally the kits are kept locked in military vans by the army. It is worthwhile noting that according to the briefing documents prepared by the Army Medical section for the senior medical command in Iraq Millions of dollars worth of such kits are incinerated in Iraq each year.Army spokesman, Foster, D. said that the services policy is to issue the kits to each unit prior to deployment, and ensure all unused kits are turned in prior to the units redisposition for destruction. Also the vice president for strategic security programs at the confederation of American Scientists, Ivan Oelrich, said that sending the Antidote-kits is a rational policy scantily in case some terrorist gets hold of 10 gallons of nerve as (Bob, 2007) Gas MaskAmong other protective coverings such as injections of antidotes, gas masks too are used as one of the defensive measures against chemical agents. Gas mask protects a person from breathing poisonous gases and vapors into the lungs. Only air is allowed to enter the mask through the filter pads, which purifies and filters the air. The charcoal-gray which is padded within the cheeks of mask purifies the air by trapping harmful gases and particles. Particulate filters can remove particles of smoke, dust, and even some harmful biological agents.The purifying materials are in the cheeks of present-day masks, which are often part of an entire protective suit. In World War I (1914 -1918), masks were used to protect troops against gas attacks. Gas was not used in World War II (1939-1945), but armies had masks in case gas warfare began. During the Persian Gulf War of 1991 and the Iraq War, which began in 2003, gas masks were issued to troops and civilians in areas where it was feared Iraq would attack. (Lussier and Frances M, 2007)