A Short History Of Biological Warfare

Download or read book A Short History of Biological Warfare written by W. Seth Carus and published by Government Printing Office. This book was released on 2017-08-03 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This publication gives a history of biological warfare (BW) from the prehistoric period through the present, with a section on the future of BW. The publication relies on works by historians who used primary sources dealing with BW. In-depth definitions of biological agents, biological weapons, and biological warfare (BW) are included, as well as an appendix of further reading on the subject. Related items: Arms & Weapons publications can be found here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/catalog/arms-weapons Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT & CBRNE) publications can be found here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/catalog/hazardous-materials-hazmat-cbrne

Download or read book Toxicologic Assessment of the Army's Zinc Cadmium Sulfide Dispersion Tests written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1997-05-30 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the 1950s and 1960s, the U.S. Army conducted atmospheric dispersion tests in many American cities using fluorescent particles of zinc cadmium sulfide (ZnCdS) to develop and verify meteorological models to estimate the dispersal of aerosols. Upon learning of the tests, many citizens and some public health officials in the affected cities raised concerns about the health consequences of the tests. This book assesses the public health effects of the Army's tests, including the toxicity of ZnCdS, the toxicity of surrogate cadmium compounds, the environmental fate of ZnCdS, the extent of public exposures from the dispersion tests, and the risks of such exposures.

Download or read book Biological Weapons written by Jeanne Guillemin and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2004-12-14 with total page 435 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Until the events of September 11 and the anthrax attacks of 2001, biological weapons had never been a major public concern in the United States. Today, the possibility of their use by terrorists against Western states looms large as an international security concern. In Biological Weapons, Jeanne Guillemin provides a highly accessible and compelling account of the circumstances under which scientists, soldiers, and statesmen were able to mobilize resources for extensive biological weapons programs and also analyzes why such weapons, targeted against civilians, were never used in a major conflict. This book is essential for understanding the relevance of the historical restraints placed on the use of biological weapons for today's world. It serves as an excellent introduction to the problems biological weapons pose for contemporary policymakers and public officials, particularly in the United States. How can we best deter the use of such weapons? What are the resulting policies of the Department of Homeland Security? How can we constrain proliferation? Jeanne Guillemin wisely points out that these are vitally important questions for all Americans to consider and investigate—all the more so because the development of these weapons has been carried out under a veil of secrecy, with their frightening potential open to exploitation by the media and government. Public awareness through education can help calm fears in today's tension-filled climate and promote constructive political action to reduce the risks of a biological weapons catastrophe. Biological Weapons is required reading for every concerned citizen, government policymaker, public health official, and national security analyst who wants to understand this complex and timely issue.

Download or read book The United States and Biological Warfare written by Stephen Endicott and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 1998-11-22 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The United States and Biological Warfare] is a major contribution to our understanding of the past involvement by the US and Japanese governments with BW, with important, crucial implications for the future.... Pieces of this story, including the Korean War allegations, have been told before, but never so authoritatively, and with such a convincing foundation in historical research.... This is a brave and significant scholarly contribution on a matter of great importance to the future of humanity. --Richard Falk, Albert G. Milbank Professor of International Law and Practice, Princeton University The United States and Biological Warfare argues persuasively that the United States experimented with and deployed biological weapons during the Korean War. Endicott and Hagerman explore the political and moral dimensions of this issue, asking what restraints were applied or forgotten in those years of ideological and political passion and military crisis. For the first time, there is hard evidence that the United States lied both to Congress and the American public in saying that the American biological warfare program was purely defensive and for retaliation only. The truth is that a large and sophisticated biological weapons system was developed as an offensive weapon of opportunity in the post-World War II years. From newly declassified American, Canadian, and British documents, and with the cooperation of the Chinese Central Archives in giving the authors the first access by foreigners to relevant classified documents, Endicott and Hagerman have been able to tell the previously hidden story of the extension of the limits of modern war to include the use of medical science, the most morally laden of sciences with respect to the sanctity of human life. They show how the germ warfare program developed collaboratively by Great Britain, Canada, and the United States during the Second World War, together with information gathered from the Japanese at the end of World War II about their biological warfare technology, was incorporated into an ongoing development program in the United States. Startling evidence from both Chinese and American sources is presented to make the case. An important book for anyone interested in the history and morality of modern warfare.

Download or read book A History of Chemical and Biological Weapons written by Edward M. Spiers and published by Reaktion Books. This book was released on 2010-04-30 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Following the 9/11 attacks and the anthrax letters that appeared in their wake, the threat posed by the widespread accessibility of chemical and biological weapons has continually been used to stir public fear and opinion by politicians and the media alike. In Chemical and Biological Weapons, Edward M. Spiers cuts through the scare tactics and hype to provide a thorough and even-handed examination of the weapons themselves—the various types and effects—and their evolution from World War I to the present. Spiers describes the similarities and differences between the two types of weapons and how technological advancements have led to tactical innovations in their use over time. As well, he gives equal attention to the international response to the proliferation of chemical and biological weapons, analyzing global efforts aimed at restraining their use, such as deterrence and disarmament, and the effectiveness of these approaches in the twentieth century. Using Iraq as a case study, Spiers also investigates its deployment of chemical weapons in the Iran-Iraq War and the attempts by the international community to disarm Iraq through the United Nations Special Commission and the United States-led war in 2003. A timely and balanced historical survey, Chemical and Biological Weapons will be of interest to readers studying the proliferation and use of chemical and biological warfare and the reactions of the international community throughout the last several decades.

Download or read book The Implementation of Legally Binding Measures to Strengthen the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention written by Marie Isabelle Chevrier and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2004-07-13 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Incidents of bioterrorism and biowarfare are likely to recur, leading to increased public concern and government action. The deficiencies of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) are in urgent need of attention: the BTWC is the central international agreement to prevent the proliferation of biological warfare programmes. Uniquely, this book is written by diplomats involved in the decade-long effort (1991-2001) in which State Parties to the BTWC tried to agree a Protocol to the Convention with legally binding measures to strengthen its effectiveness, and academics concerned with the negotiations. Just before negotiations foundered, when the Chairman's proposed text was virtually complete, the problems and proposed solutions were examined thoroughly, leading to this book. The book is wide-ranging in its review of the history of biological warfare, the reasons why the current biological revolution is of such concern, and the main features of the BTWC itself. The core of the book examines the key elements of the proposed protocol - declarations, visits, challenge-type investigations, and enhanced international cooperation - and the implications for government, industry and biodefence, giving us all a better understanding of what still remains to be done to avert a biowarfare catastrophe.

Download or read book Historical Dictionary of Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Warfare written by Benjamin C. Garrett and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2017-08-25 with total page 411 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The history of biological weapons (BW), chemical weapons (CW), and nuclear weapons is complicated. It can be disturbing, tragic, and occasionally encouraging. It is rarely amusing, although the names selected for certain weapons suggest a casualness toward the consequences of their use: Atomic Annie, Blue Peacock, Dew of Death, Fat Man, Flying cow, George, Gilda, Helen of Bikini, Hurricane, Katie, Little Boy, Lulu, Mike, Red Beard, Sewer Pipe, Squirt. Use of BW and CW in warfare has produced mixed results in terms of effecting the outcome of a battle or campaign; despite this mixed record, both weapon types have attracted intense interest and strong advocacy for further use. The sole experience with use of nuclear weapons in warfare is viewed as hastening surrender by Japan, created competition among nations to develop more such weapons, and influenced efforts to ban any use or even stockpiling of such weapons. Each of these three weapon types has its own peculiar history, as recounted in this dictionary. This second edition of Historical Dictionary of Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Warfare contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 700 cross-referenced entries onterms related to NBC warfare, ranging from basic descriptions of substances used to details on incidents and episodes where NBC weapons were used, historical events, persons important to NBC warfare, countries where such weapons have been developed or used, and international treaties and treaty-related organizations.