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Bioterrorism Threat Bioterrorism has been given significant attention during the past 4 years by the laboratory industry press and has been the subject of numerous seminars at national meetings of laboratory organizations. The likely precursors to this coverage were the discovery of a huge biological weapons program in Iraq after the Gulf War of 1991, the discovery of a major biological weapons program in the former Soviet Union called "Biopreparat, " and the known recruitment of scientists from other rogue nations who worked on Biopreparat. Terrorist attacks, such as the dispersal of sarin nerve gas in a Tokyo subway in 1995 by the Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo and anthrax threat, may also have contributed to the added attention bioterrorism has received. The threat of a terrorist action against the US that involves lethal biological weapons is not only possible but also probable, according to experts. It is also possible today that bipolar will be started by terrorist organization with national origins. As an example Aum Shinrikyo might be considered.
Having highly effective vaccinations such terrorist organization can secure its members against biological threat and impact wide shares of US society. The potential use of biological weapons can scarcely be overestimated for those who are in opposition to the present world order. As we see today the war actions against United States even in the home countries are almost impossible because of the new weapon technologies undertaken by US military and other coalition countries. Today not the soldiers presence of strong mind makes the victory but the progressive arms of the coalition forces. That fact became absolutely clear when Saddam has already been removed. The urbanization and city dwellers population of the most countries of North America and Europe have had boost in the past century.
The only way for struggle for radical opposition groups today is terrorism. Actually it becomes clear today that terrorism is not just desperate actions but the new age of war which is not demand sufficient funds or essential human resources. All what is really needed for biological terror is scientific efforts undertaken by fanatics involved in terrorist organization and not numerous network throughout the country to make the organized impact which may hit the society dramatically. In his congressional testimony before the Subcommittee on National Security, Veterans Affairs, and International Relations for the US House of Representatives on Oct. 20, 1999, Raymond Zalinskas, PhD, the Senior Scientist-in-Residence for the Chemical and Biological Weapons Nonproliferation Project at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Washington, DC, said that the most likely attacks would be on food or water supplies. The infection may be easily putted to the water-supply as an example. In this case vaccinated persons will still alive but the others will be neutralized.
Raymond Zalinskas also predicted a substantial increase in the possibility of biological attacks using airborne pathogens between 2006 and 2010. Attempts to control the use of biological weapons are almost as old as the weapons themselves. Most of the members of the League of Nations signed the 1925 Geneva Protocol renouncing the use of chemical or biological weapons. Later, the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention was signed by 118 countries, including China, Japan, all NATO members, and the former Warsaw Pact countries. The BWC defined both biological and chemical weapons as instruments of biological warfare and prohibits the development, production, and stockpiling of biological and chemical weapons. Because no verification method exists, however, this pact remains largely unenforceable.
Although biological weapons are prohibited now, some not friendly to United States countries continue to work out their biological weapons and the possibility of US invasion to those countries made it possible to use the biological weapons in the homeland. So bioterrorism action may be undertaken both inside the United States and in any other country in case of the war with it. The biological weapons became the war means of new age today among many of our enemies. The vaccinations are keys for both protection of the biological weapons and using it in war actions in other countries. And it is impossible for our medicine as well as for any other medicine to have the vaccination for all biological weapons. Even if it were so, the prohibited research and development of new weapons are irrevocable.
CIA operates the information about prohibited research in China, Iran and Belarus. The main distinguish of the biological weapon development laid in working out the appropriate vaccination for new biological weapon concurrently. Perhaps not all of the biological weapons known to US physicians have effective vaccinations. As an example ricin does not has any vaccinations yet but it is also possible that China and Russia have developed ricin vaccination. Consequences must be serious if some American terrorist network Al Quida get the vaccination not developed by US science. I would like to give an example of anthrax and its vaccination epic work presented by US medicine to realize the possible scenario of biological war which is absolutely possible in the next decade.
Al Quida. Bioterrorism may have political, religious, ideological and criminal reasons. Actions may be undertaken by group of people or even by one person which is distinguishing feature of bioterrorism actions. Bioterrorism actions may be sponsored by terrorism-friendly state, by internal or external fanatic terrorist organization or by single individual which is another distinguishing feature of the bioterrorism. The terrorist act of 9 / 11 approximate cost is just $ 2 millions. The CIA reported last moth that minimum cost of the biological action covered middle size US town may costs about $ 4 thousands or even less which makes it possible to undertake the biological attack for almost everyone who wish to hit our society with any political, cultural or other motivation.
Biological agents range from anthracis to botulism toxin. Some agents may harm only the population exposed immediate disease, for example small, while others may disseminated through unaffected population. This provides bioterrorist's the wide range of potential scenarios of biological war. What is the possible cultural implications of bioterrorism un the near future? United States have always been a country of emigrants. The numerous of huge diasporas are presented in our society today.
I would like to analyze the possibility of Chinese implication in bioterrorism act. Chine remains country with strong communism regime today. A lot of communist fanatics may be found in the country and some of them still planning to overwhelm the existing democratic world order to world revolution and declare the only communist state throughout the world. These ideas dont have general public support in Chine nor in others post communist state but Chine ideology remains in strong opposition to US ideals today. Indeed United States have nothing to do with Chinese regime because China is entirely different to the most countries of the world.
The war action in Iraq was nothing in comparison to possible action against China. A quarter of the world population is Chinese who live in China. Almost 160 millions of Chinese live throughout North America and Western Europe. The most problem of China today is overpopulation of the country. The hard restrictions have been made by Chinese government in the 50 th to prevent overpopulation but today it became clear that all of those efforts were made almost in vain.
Chinese are obligate not to have more than two children in fact. This policy is imposed by Peoples Commissars throughout the country and 24 of Peoples Commissars were prosecuted for not imposing effectively the government policies on overpopulation's last year. Such restrictions laid in migrations of Chinese throughout the world. The problem of Chinese illegal immigration is very topical not only in United States but in the countries of European Union and Russia as well. One day the new strong ideology may remove communism from China like communism ideology removed imperialism half a century ago. If that ideology will have the same features that fascism had in Germany in the middle of the 20 th century the world order will be in great danger.
The aspiration to hold new territories should be in the very core for Chinese taking to consideration the current overpopulation of the country. The biological war is irrevocable in this case. China will have all needed recourses for massive biological attacks in United States. The main factor is huge Chinese Diaspora in US. Chinese are very firm to assimilation. They live in Chinese districts and only few part of them take an active part in social life of the United States.
Almost 15 percent of Chinese districts dwellers are illegal immigrants who speak only one language Chinese. Some of them dont want to study English living in America because of the ideological preoccupations. Chine district can be easily found in each city of United States and almost every middle size town includes sufficient part of Chinese dwellers. That fact may the bio terrorist network creation not so difficult. Another factor for Chinese success in biological war is leading technologies in biological weapons and vaccinations. The most probable biological agent which may be used by Chinese is small.
The early method of immunization against amal lox had been developed in China and Turkey. The small vaccinations have high effectiveness and will be used among Chinese involved in the bio terrorist actions. United States dont have effective small vaccinations yet because of the wide range of modifications of the agent. Defectors from the former Soviet Union biological weapons program have indicated that the Soviets were trying to modify a weaponizable form of anthrax that may be resistant to the current small vaccine. Reportedly, attempts at fully weaponizing the altered strains have been unsuccessful. Nonetheless, on November 5, 1998, the US announced it was attempting to duplicate the modified Chinese strain.
The purpose of this attempt is to determine if the current anthrax vaccine available in the US provides adequate protection against the strain. If not, new vaccines will have to be designed and produced to provide full protection. Ironically, persons at risk may have to receive two vaccines to protect against modified and traditional strains. The US military is now engaged in a several active surveillance studies on adverse reactions to the small vaccine and other immunizations.
Some studies will look at effects of vaccinations over an entire military career. Because tracking mechanisms for vaccines capable of generating information critical for scientifically valid studies is only recently available, final results of these long-term studies will not be available for years. Preliminary results, however, are being published in peer-reviewed journals. Another problem is cultural, ideological and religious preoccupations on vaccination of some ethical groups of Americans.
Mormons and American Indians will be under the threat of entire annihilation even if vaccinations will be developed by American scientists at the time of the beginning of biological war because of the negligence to traditional medicine. So they will have to reconsider their preoccupation or just die as a heroes of religion. Health officials are trying to educate people on the risk of bioterrorism threats. The Chairman of Medicine at the Morristown Memorial Hospital said that anthrax hysteria would be a worst threat than anthrax itself. He also said that any physicians prescribing Cipro are wrong because its not necessary and its dangerous. He suggests that people not over-react and go on with their daily activities.
Mark Wheels, who serves on the bio weapons committee of the Federation of American Scientists stated Critical information is still missing. Its impossible to assess the threat were facing. Its that profound sense of the unknown that sense of the unknown that has made the threat so far so effective. Peter Probst, a former Pentagon adviser on terrorism, is one who suspects that the al Qaeda network is responsible, and he believed terrorists objective wold be economic destabilization. I suspect he sees the economy as the soft underbelly of American political stability, Probst says, Well put up with a lot until our 401 (k) s are affected. The virus can be easily putted to water-supply in all US cities and towns and consequences must be national panic and social disorder throughout the country.
American society dont know what the war is. It was no any internal war action in last two centuries so if biological war became a real threat in US our nation will have nothing to do but fall in deep panic. The reaction of US society on terrorist actions of 9 / 11 is best prove of my point of view. The national panic caused by bio terrorist actions will be the best moment for Chinese countless military troops invasion and the immediate fall of the United States will be irrevocable in that case. As we see, although endless efforts of US science, we dont have any effective mean worked out.
So personally I think that lake of vaccinations developed by our science and lake of psychological preparedness of our nation gave possibility for our enemies to use biological weapons effectively in US as well as in other countries. Among other aspects should be concluded from this simple fact the effectiveness of the biological weapons could pointed out because US science is on the top. I think that US physicians should pay more attention biological weapons as well as our enemies for doing affective counterstrike in case of the biological attack. Our educational bodies have to develop particular program for make our citizens ready for possible bio terrorist acts in the near future to avoid possible panic in the society and organization of entire defense in the case of the biological war undertaken by our hidden enemies.
Bibliography: Barnaby F. The plutonium problem: the Royal Society sits on the fence. Med Cool Survey 1999 Binder S, Levitt A, Sacks J, Hughes J. Emerging infectious diseases: public health issues for the 21 st century. Science 1998 Dwyer, D China: The Next Decades, Longman. 1994 Tremblay, H Families of the World: East Asia, South East Asia and the Pacific, Camden Publishing 1994 Franz DR, Zajtchuk R. Biological terrorism: understanding the threat, preparation, and medical response.
Disease-a-Month 2002 Henderson D. The looming threat of bioterrorism. Science 2000 Henderson D, Inglesby T, Bartlett J, et al. Smallpox as a biological weapon: medical and public health management.
JAMA 1999 Marwick C. Scary scenarios spark action at bioterrorism symposium. JAMA 1999
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Research essay sample on Biological And Chemical Biological Weapons
