The Use of Chemical and Biological Warfare

The Use of Chemical and Biological Warfare

This survey assesses all past uses of chemical or biological warfare and then evaluates what would constitute a good route for the US to take should it decide to use biological warfare.

1969

A major difficulty when using biological weapons is controlling the disease. Vectors are often unpredictable, and while transmissible diseases offer the largest spread with the least chance of detection, they can be difficult to stop spread to the user. The agent chosen should be endemic to the target area but with very few cases per year to avoid population immune resistance. A lethal agent is wiser to use than an incapacitating agent as the latter would then give the target population resistance to that disease. A good option for the US to use against Vietnam is plague.