ZKEA

Biological Warfare : Biological Terrorism : Emerging Diseases

American Biological Weapons Programs

The program got a big boost after the war, when the United States granted amnesty to Japanese scientists who had been working on Japan's very robust biological program (known as Unit 731). This gave the Americans a very large amount of practical data that they would have found difficult to acquire any other way. Among other things, Unit 731 had conducted live biological experiments on civilians and war prisoners, and thus had extensive experimental results on the effects of biological agents on human subjects. For another, the Japanese had deep engineering experience in biological weaponization and had refined and debugged these weapons by liberally using them on the Chinese. Taking all these results and data allowed the Americans to very quickly move their own program up to a higher level.

During the Korean War the biological program moved to Fort Detrick and ramped up. Numerous pathogens were researched and weaponized. During this period a number of American cities were used as laboratories to test aerosolization and dispersal methods. To this end microorganisms and spores were spread by hand, by boat and by aircraft in areas ranging from New York City to San Francisco. Data was then gathered on which methods worked best and then used to refine weapons design. In addition to biological agents targeting humans, the United States also placed great emphasis on agricultural pathogens. It was believed that such weapons, by inducing famine, might be more cost-effective than weapons applied directly on people. Therefore the United States program focused on these agents and developed dozens of anti-crop weapons.

By the 1960s the United States had a huge arsenal of potent biological weapons. Most of these were stored in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.

In anticipation of the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), President Nixon terminated the American program in 1969. This was a pragmatic decision driven by real-politick: the United States already had deadly chemical and nuclear arsenals, and thus biological weapons weren't really required to further American security. More to the point, given the fact that biological weapons could easily be developed by many countries, the Americans felt it was in their interest to take the lead in blocking further development.

Over the ensuing decades there were accusations that the United States was nonetheless continuing biological weapons research. To date nothing has been conclusively proven in this regard. In contrast, it is certainly the case that other nations cheated. In particular, the Soviet Union conducted a massive effort known as Biopreparat.

However, it is believed that the United States has indeed restarted a major biological program under the Bush administration. Driven by the events of 9/11 and the perceived failure of the BWC treaty, the United States believes that biodefenses are again strategically critical. Unfortunately the line between defense and offense is an exceedingly fine one. It is an interesting logical paradox. In order to develop and test defenses against theoretical biological weapons, often one must develop those very same biological weapons. Thus the theoretical threat becomes real by virtue of the need to anticipate the threat. This is an interesting nuance that Dr. Strangelove would have appreciated.

A new arms race has begun. Unfortunately, this arms race will not be confined to a few large research facilities safely locked inside a couple superpowers. This arms race will encompass the world.

Link: Official History Of United States BioWarfare Programs
Link: American Offensive Biological Weapons From 1940 Onward
Link: Fort Detrick Home Page
Link: Broader History Of Biological Warfare, including American Efforts
Link: Timeline of Biological Warfare Events, Including United States Biowar Program
Link: Bush Administration Accelerating Secret Germ Warfare Efforts
Link: United States Allergic to the BWC Protocol