ZKEA
World Outbreak Update
Religion & Biological TerrorismOne of the hallmarks of the religious terrorist (as opposed to the secular kind) is the unquestioned willingness to kill large numbers of people with absolutely no moral qualms. Since the religious terrorist by definition has God on his side and since his aims are pure and other-worldly, it is easy for him to morally justify apocalyptic actions that the standard garden-variety terrorist would simply never consider. Given nothing can deliver a true apocalypse more easily and reliably than a bioweapon, religious-based terrorist groups have long been interested in this technology.
One of the trendsetters here was the Aum cult. Even by the standards of cults, the Aum were a strange bunch. Among other things, members believed in the virtues of levitation and coffee enemas. They also wore elaborate radio sets on their heads so as to better hear the thoughts of their Leader. Despite their kookiness, the cult attracted a number of educated followers with scientific and technical abilities. It is a discouraging fact: religious cults may be weird and ignorant, but that doesn't prevent them from attracting capable followers - or to capably pursuing doomsday agendas. An essential Aum tenet was that the end of the world was very close. Of course, many other mainstream religious cults believe this. For example, hang around in parts of the United States long enough and you will discover the imminent end of the world is also a core belief of a number of fundamentalist Christian groups. What made Aum different was that they were interested in actively helping the process along. To this end they attempted a number of mega-terror attacks of which the most famous was the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway. In addition to this they researched nuclear and radiological weapons. They also acquired a large ranch in outback Australia to serve as their refuge once the apocalypse (whether naturally-occurring or due to their own efforts) came about. Aum is less well known for their series of failed Anthrax and Botulinum Toxin attacks. These did not achieve their desired effect (millions dead), due to a host of basic technical mistakes. For example, the anthrax Aum used was of a very benign strain. Also, they failed to modify their dispersion equipment to generate aerosols of the required small diameters. Even so, other groups took careful note of Aum's goals and failures. Just like with Japan's previous biowar pioneers - Unit 731 others have taken to building on their work. Other eastern-based sects have attempted biological attacks. Perhaps the most famous one was the 1984 Rajneesh salmonella attacks in Oregon. Even though it was a very amateur job using a relatively mild pathogen and executed by not particularly bright people, this attack sickened thousands of people. Nowadays terrorist groups are far more professional and threatening. Among these, Al Qaeda had a particularly deep and long-standing interest in acquiring and using such weapons. Their most advanced efforts were in botulinum and salmonella toxins. It is known they also experimented with anthrax in Afghanistan. At one point it was believed that this anthrax program was only in the beginning stages. However current intelligence indicates that this program was somewhat more advanced than first thought. It is possible that at least one Afghanistan anthrax lab was in full production prior to the U.S. invasion. However, it is not believed that Al Qaeda possessed the processing and aerosol technologies necessary for delivering their anthrax in truly advanced weaponized form. Even so, Al Qaeda researched the dispersion equipment necessary for carrying out mass-attacks (such as modified crop-dusters). In addition, they and related groups have attempted to procure weapons directly from the ruins of the old Soviet programs. And, of course, there are no lack of other sources should the Russians not be forthcoming. It used to be argued that modern terrorists would never use such devastating weapons. The thinking went that terrorists wanted to "see a lot of people on TV, not see a lot of people dead". Such an argument never did have a historical basis. And the events of 9/11 erased any lingering doubts for those who ignored their history. In the age of sacred terror, few can doubt that when terrorists acquire biological weapons, they will not hesitate to use them.
Link: Osama wanted biological weapons
|
| Recommended Books |
|
The Complete Guide To Biological Weapons
by U.S. Department of Defense |
|
The Coming Plague
by Laurie Garret |
|
The Demon In The Freezer
by Richard Preston |
|
The Collapse Of Public Health
by Laurie Garret |
|
The Menace of Emerging Infections
by Madeline Drexler |
|
The Hot Zone
by Richard Preston |
|
BioHazard
by Ken Alibek |
|
Plague Wars
by Tom Mangold |
|
The Biology of Doom
by Ed Regis |
|
Living Terrors: Survive The Bioterrorist Catastrophe
by Michael Osterholm |
|
Scourge: The Once and Future Threat of Smallpox
by Jonathan Tucker |
|
Virus X: Tracking The New Killer Plagues
by Frank Ryan |
|
Virus Hunter
by C.J. Peters |
|
Ebola: Through The Eyes of The People
by William Close |
|
The Cobra Event
by Richard Preston |
|
Germs: America's Secret War
by Judith Miller |
|
Man & Microbes: Plagues Throughout History
by Arno Karlen |