Page 101 - Encyclopedia Of Terrorism

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Biological Terrorism———75

possession of these weapons would deter others from vaccine, for example, would use the pathogen in tests.
using them. The Japanese experimented with the use To obtain a quantity of the pathogen, a researcher (or
of biological weapons on a relatively small scale in a terrorist) just had to submit a purchase request on
World War II—for example, Japanese forces attacked the letterhead of a laboratory or research institution.
Chinese cities by dropping plague-carrying fleas from There were few rigorous procedures in place requiring
aircraft—but other major combatants did not use them, the supplier to verify that the laboratory was real and
possibly because they did not believe that these weapons the purchase request legitimate. After U.N. inspectors
would be decisive factors in the conflict, and possibly learned that Iraq had prepared biological weapons in
because they feared retaliation in kind. 1991, the United States imposed tougher restrictions
The relatively crude attempts to use pathogens on such purchases, but many other nations do not have
for military purposes throughout history were over- similar safeguards in place.
shadowed dramatically during the Cold War period Until recently, there were few procedures in place
(1948–1991) when Americans and Soviets exploited to prevent a terrorist from penetrating the facilities of a
modern scientific knowledge and sophisticated pathogen supplier by gaining employment there, pos-
technology to manufacture large stockpiles of deadly ing as a repairman, or bribing an employee. Prior to
pathogens such as anthrax, a disease that can sicken the mail anthrax attacks in 2001, few universities had
and kill humans and livestock. adequate security systems in place to prevent the theft
By the late 1960s, it had become apparent to mili- of pathogens from their research stocks. In addition
tary planners that biological weapons posed as much to the possibility that a disgruntled U.S. citizen might
of a threat to the attacker as to the defender. An infec- resort to bioterrorism, university reliance on foreign
tion spread among enemy troops might easily result in graduate students to staff their laboratories raised the
the infection of friendly forces. Furthermore, biologi- possibility that a foreign terrorist organization could
cal weapons were not regarded as posing significant co-opt, blackmail, or threaten students studying
threats to well-prepared military units that could be (nearly all of whom are models of good behavior) to
vaccinated to prevent the spread of disease. For these obtain pathogens for terrorist purposes.
reasons, most nations signed a 1972 treaty known as If a terrorist obtained a starter culture, it is not hard
the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention that to grow rapidly multiplying bacteria. A single anthrax
went beyond the Geneva Convention of 1925 by cell, for example, takes about 20 minutes to divide.
prohibiting research, development, manufacture, Twenty generations of such cell divisions take about
stockpiling, and use of biological and toxin agents. seven hours and yield about 1 million anthrax bacte-
Unfortunately, this treaty does not have any monitor- ria. All this would take place in a flask the size of a
ing or verification measures to deter nations from milk bottle containing a readily available commercial
cheating. Several countries, including Iraq and the growth medium or improvised from gelatin and
former Soviet Union, took advantage of the loophole other ingredients. A terrorist could grow bacteria and
to continue developing these weapons secretly in vio- concentrate them into a wet slurry using a centrifuge
lation of international law. process familiar to anyone who has taken high school
When the Persian Gulf War ended in 1991, U.N. or college chemistry. To reduce their own risk, terror-
inspectors found that Iraq had manufactured and ists might try to vaccinate themselves and would prob-
concealed significant quantities of biological agents. ably take precautionary doses of antibiotics.
Iraq may have been deterred from using biological
weapons because the United States threatened
overwhelming retaliation to any biological or chemi- BIOTERRORIST ATTACKS
cal attack.
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The Japanese cult known as Aum Shinrikyotried to use
anthrax bacteria and a deadly botulinum toxin as bio-
THE TERRORIST CONNECTION
logical weapons to attack downtown Tokyo and U.S.
Prior to the Gulf War in 1991, it was not difficult to military installations in Japan in 1995. The cult made
obtain “starter” cultures of many pathogens from sup- scientific mistakes in producing the pathogens and was
ply companies specializing in their distribution to not able to spread the aerosols containing them widely
research laboratories for legitimate medical research enough. (The cult later killed 12 persons with chemical
purposes. A scientist trying to develop a new disease weapons.) However, the attack did succeed in instilling