OUTLINE Outline2 Two Kinds of biological warfare Agents2 a. Bacillus anthracis b. botulinum toxin III. Armed Forces Medical Intelligence Center3 IV. Investigation of the Use of Biological Warfare Agents4 V. Conclusion5 VI.
References6 Carrie E. Edgell English 11 The Use of Biological Warfare by the Iraqis in Operation Desert Storm I. Introduction It was during the Gulf War when the Coalition forces was said to have utilized chemical warfare which were capable of a biological warfare. Due to the threat, it was the task of the US Central Command to protect the forces and report the use of the biological warfare by Iraq. The Department of Defense initiated measures in order to document the possibility of the use of biological warfare as well as to report these biological exposures. II. Two Kinds of Biological Warfare Agents The Defense Intelligence Agency in 1990 posits that Iraq was capable of two kinds of biological warfare agents. These were the Bacillus anthracis and botulinum toxin. These were responsible for the diseases anthrax and botulism. Even the United Kingdom believed this so and reported that it was capable of delivering a variety of other biological warfare agents.
Aside from this it reported that it can produce and weaponize Yersinia pestis. It was however, the Bacillus anthracis and botulinum toxin which was seen as the main threats during the Gulf War. (Gulf Link) The Bacillus anthracis is a spore-forming organism which is widely-known as a warfare spores can be carried by an ordinary fly attached to its external body hairs. What makes this organism lethal is when it is inhaled between 8000 and 50,000 spores; it can cause the onset of disease. A huge amount of the spores of this is considered lethal; an ordinary housefly can carry a lethal dose for more than 100,000 individuals. The spores that can enter can begin in the lymphatic system and when inhaled the spores are easily transported from the lungs to the lymph nodes in the chest.
The Term Paper on Anthrax (Bacillus Anthracis)
Anthrax (Bacillus anthracis) is an acute infectious disease caused by the spore-forming bacterium. The most common ... technology. When comparing equivalent amounts of biological and chemical warfare agents, the biological agent is farmore potent. Small amounts can ... it usually proves fatal. (Nova, 2001)Production of biological warfare agents such as anthrax does not require specialized equipment ...
The process can prove to be fast as the spores transform into reproducing bacilli and begin killing the tissues. The bacilli then releases toxins that produce septic shock. The other biological agent that Iraq was said to possess was the botulinium toxin composed of seven highly toxic substances. Botulinium kills by attacking the nervous system, thus blocking the neurotransmissions. Onset of the disease can vary from hours to several days after exposure. (Wind).
III. Recommendation of the Armed Forces Medical Intelligence Center It was on August 20, 1990 when the Armed Forces Medical Intelligence Center revealed that Iraq had the capacity to use these toxic substances as weapons. Thus, the Board recommended to pre-exposure vaccination.
There were several oppositions at the start but the Commander-in-Chief, US Central Command finally decided that it must be administered. The Desert Storm operations have led to lymphatic cancer of some British Gulf veterans and in southern Iraq, the forces of Desert Storm incurred cancer and birth defects. Many call these war illnesses as Gulf War Syndrome or the Iraqi Curse. But as to how much of this is due to biological warfare used by Iraq is not documented. What is a reality is the number of forces who were afflicted with the Gulf trauma and war diseases. Apparently, the symptoms of the diseases are persistent rashes and loss of memory as well as dizziness, headaches and fatigue. The assumptions were that the unexplained diseases were the result of biological agents. A result of some of these cases was rotting intestines inside bodies which had to be removed.
The Term Paper on War – Persian Gulf – Iraq
WHY WAR WAS UNAVOIDABLE IN THE PERSIAN GULF AND WHY IT WAS INEVITABLE THAT IRAQ WOULD LOSE War was inevitable in the Gulf and it was a war in which Iraq was inevitable to lose. There were several reasons why this was and became a reality. How, when, where did this process of self destruction begin? It was quite evident that Saddam Hussein, the president of Iraq, was becoming a military giant in ...
A US military commander could not explain the cocktails of biological agents that were present in Saddam Husseins forces which contained lethal mixtures used in mobile sprayers. (Blair).
IV. Investigation of the Use of Biological Warfare Agents It was during the build up for Desert Storm when Colonel Schumacher investigated the chemical and biological warfare systems present in Iraq. He had first-hand knowledge of the biological warfare systems that were employed by Iraq then. In the Operation Desert Storm, there were about 800,000 chemical and biological protective suits that were defective and containing holes and tears. These came from the Isratex Company of Rainelle where Pentagon quality control showed some quality slips.
These suits can allow a deadly dose of biological or chemical material which is enough to kill the person (Blair).
This meant a violation of various OSHA safety and an $88,000 fines levied against Isratex (Blair).
There were also suspicions that during the Desert Storm, the U.S. troops destroyed 100 bunkers containing chemicals and biological substances that exposed the US forces (Blair).
The veterans from Desert Storm also incurred several other deadly illnesses that included brain tumors and leukemia. Our lives are shattered by some peoples greed for power and control. The peace and unity are undermined values by those who are used to terrorizing and committing violence and bloodshed against other human beings no matter what race or cultural ethnicity they may belong.
Curtailment will not be effective in that case. These terrorists are hard core and even consider it an honor to die or commit suicide. (Wheeler et al).
V. Conclusion The documents of Freedom showed that as of December 1997, there were about 4,306 Gulf veterans who died and from the Gulf War Veterans Information System website dated May 2002, the number has risen to 8,013. Terrorism is an extreme and radical way of influencing views of a government to achieve a democratic result from the perpetrators point of view.
The world today is seeking answers to questions about terrorism and its ethical standards, if any. One end of the issue claims that there need not be any justification for actions when it comes to terrorism. Others raise the question of the legitimacy of revolutionary terrorist violence. However, when it comes to the nitty-gritty details of war, it is still reality that needs to be taken into consideration. When war vets pass their health problems to their children who may be born with deformities and other defects, then one realizes that the miseries of war does not end when the war ends. WORKS CITED Blair, Mike. AmericanFreePress.net. Exposing the Myth of the Casualty-Free War: Gulf War Syndrome.
The Term Paper on Air Power And The Gulf War
An acknowledged aerospace historian, Mr. Richard P. Hallion is an associate for the Smithsonian Institution employed in the research division. A former Charles A. Lindbergh Professor of Aerospace History, Mr. Hallion has written or edited thirteen other books, including The Wright Brothers: Heirs of Prometheus (1978), Test Pilots: The Frontiersmen of Flight (1988), and The History of Battlefield ...
Retrieved Aug. 18, 2007 at: http://www.americanfreepress.net/11_04_02/EXPOSING _THE_MYTH_/exposing_the_myth_.html Gulf Link. Retrieved Aug. 18, 2007 at: http://www.gulflink.osd.mil/bw_ii/ Wheeler, Winslow ; Kroemer, Kurt ; Coperland, Robert ; Pickett, Penny ; CHennareddy, Venkareddy. (aug. 1994).
Operation Desert Storm. Questions Remain on Possible Exposure to Reproductive Toxicants. Retrieved Aug.
18, 2007 at: http://stinet.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&met adataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA465603 Wind Desert Storm Blows Back with a Fury . Retrieved Aug. 18, 2007 at: http://www.freedommag.org/english/vol35I1/page04.h tm.
