The anthrax panic that arose in the United States following the two cases of the disease that were discovered in Florida, requires clarifications and explanations on the topic of biological weapons.
Reuven Fedhzor
The anthrax panic that arose in the United States following the two cases of the disease that were discovered in Florida, requires clarifications and explanations on the topic of biological weapons. Contrary to what can perhaps be concluded from the abundance of publications in recent days - the development of biological weapons, and even more so the effective use of them, is not a simple matter at all.
To this day, there is no known case in which biological weapons were used - not by states and certainly not by terrorist organizations. Quite a few countries in the world have developed and produced biological weapons of various types, and they store them as part of a strategic concept, which holds that it is worthwhile to possess such a weapon since it provides a significant deterrent advantage. The biological weapon was also nicknamed "the atom bombs of the poor".
Anthrax, which is only one of the types of biological weapons, is a bacterium that enters the body mainly through the respiratory tract, and without treatment it causes death. It is possible to develop anthrax cells in the laboratory, but it is a long way from there to becoming an effective weapon.
To cause mass damage to the population, the bacteria must be spread effectively over a large area. The best way to achieve this goal is distribution from the air, using planes or missiles. However, such means are not in the hands of terrorist organizations, and therefore, if terrorists decide to use biological weapons, they will probably do so with much simpler means of dispersal. Like, for example (as may have happened in the USA) sending bacteria through an envelope, or spreading them through a test tube. In such cases, the number of victims is low, and if you manage to locate the injury and identify it in a short time, people who have been exposed to the bacteria can be treated with antibiotics.
The problem is that it is possible, theoretically, to develop different types of bacteria and spores that cannot be prepared for in advance with the appropriate antibiotic drugs. The treatment of bacteria in the stage of developing biological weapons is also not simple, and is a danger even for those who deal with it if they are not real experts. It seems that this is one of the reasons why terrorist organizations have so far refrained from developing biological weapons.
A number of countries in the region are equipped with biological weapons, including Iraq, and probably Egypt and Syria as well, but there is great difficulty in developing effective biological warheads for ballistic missiles. So far no country has tested a biological missile. Countries are even afraid of using biological weapons for fear of an unconventional response from the attacked country.
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