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== South Africa ==
In 1998, the ] in ] investigated ], the CBW program (], ] and ]) led by ] during the ]. The program was used to develop weapons that targeted the ] and the population.

These weapons included an infertility toxin to secretly sterilize the black population, skin-absorbing poisons, and poison concealed in products such as chocolate and cigarettes. They released ] strains into water sources and provided ] and cholera to the government troops of ] during the late 1970s to use against the rebel soldiers in the guerrilla war. In 1979 the world's largest outbreak of anthrax took place in Rhodesia.<ref></ref>


== Israeli "ethno-bomb" controversy == == Israeli "ethno-bomb" controversy ==

Revision as of 19:00, 26 February 2013

An ethnic bioweapon (biogenetic weapon) aims to harm only or primarily persons of specific ethnicities or genotypes.

History of ethnic bioweapons

Usage of natural disease as a weapon in conflicts has a long history. White European settlers were recorded to use blankets infected with smallpox against Native Americans (which didn't have natural resistance to it, while the Europeans have). While in Nepal, its rulers maintained a malaria-infected Terai forest as natural barrier against invader from Ganges plains. Natives of Terai have natural resistance of malaria, while the invaders didn't.

One of the first modern fictional discussions of ethnic weapons is in Robert A. Heinlein's 1942 novel Sixth Column (republished as The Day After Tomorrow) in which a race-specific radiation weapon is used against a so-called "Pan-Asian" invader.

Genetic weapon

In 1997, U.S. Secretary of Defense William Cohen referred to the concept as a possible risk. In 1998 some biological weapon experts considered such a "genetic weapon" a plausible possibility, and believed the former Soviet Union had undertaken some research on the influence of various substances on human genes.

The possibility of a "genetic bomb" is presented in Vincent Sarich's and Frank Miele's book, Race: The Reality of Human Differences, published in 2004. The authors believe that information from the Human Genome Project will be used in just such a manner.

In 2004, The Guardian reported that the British Medical Association (BMA) considered that bioweapons designed to target certain ethnic groups as an possibility, and highlighting problem that advance in science for such thing as "treatment to Alzheimer's and other debilitating diseases could also be used for malign purposes.:

In 2005 the official view of the International Committee of the Red Cross was "The potential to target a particular ethnic group with a biological agent is probably not far off. These scenarios are not the product of the ICRC's imagination but have either occurred or been identified by countless independent and governmental experts."

In 2012, The Atlantic wrote that a specific virus that target individual with a specific DNA sequence is within possibility in near future. The magazine put a hypothetical scenario of a virus which caused mild flu to general population but deadly symptoms to the President of the United States. They cite advance in personalized gene therapy as evidence.

South Africa

In 1998, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa investigated Project Coast, the CBW program (Chemical warfare, Biological warfare and Weapons of mass destruction) led by Wouter Basson during the Apartheid. The program was used to develop weapons that targeted the African National Congress and the population.

These weapons included an infertility toxin to secretly sterilize the black population, skin-absorbing poisons, and poison concealed in products such as chocolate and cigarettes. They released cholera strains into water sources and provided anthrax and cholera to the government troops of Rhodesia during the late 1970s to use against the rebel soldiers in the guerrilla war. In 1979 the world's largest outbreak of anthrax took place in Rhodesia.

Israeli "ethno-bomb" controversy

In November 1998, The Sunday Times reported that Israel was attempting to build an "ethno-bomb" containing a biological agent that could specifically target genetic traits present amongst Arab populations. Wired News also reported the story, as did Foreign Report.

The article was quickly denounced as a hoax. Microbiologists and geneticists were skeptical towards the scientific plausibility of such a biological agent. The New York Post, describing the claims as "blood libel", reported that the likely source for the story was a work of science fiction by Israeli academic Doron Stanitsky. Stanitsky had sent his completely fictional work about such a weapon to Israeli newspapers two years before. The article also noted the views of genetic researchers who claimed the idea as "wholly fantastical", with others claiming that the weapon was theoretically possible.

A planned second installment of the article never appeared, and no sources were ever identified. Neither of the authors of the Sunday Times story, Uzi Mahnaimi and Marie Colvin, have spoken publicly on the matter.

Russian ban on export of biological samples

In May 2007, Russian newspaper Kommersant reported that the Russian government banned all exports of human biosamples. The report claims that the reason for the ban was a secret FSB report about on-going development of "genetic bioweapons" targeting Russian population by Western institutions. The report mentions the Harvard School of Public Health, American International Health Alliance, United States Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division, Karolinska Institutet and United States Agency for International Development.

See also

References

  1. Did whites ever give Native Americans blankets infected with smallpox?, Straight Dope, October 24, 1997
  2. The Terai Forests, Forest Monitor, 2006
  3. William Cohen (1997-04-28). "Terrorism, Weapons of Mass Destruction, and U.S. Strategy". Sam Nunn Policy Forum, University of Georgia. Archived from the original on 2004-11-18. Retrieved 2006-07-12.
  4. Interview of Dr Christopher Davis, UK Defence Intelligence Staff, Plague War, Frontline, PBS, October 1998
  5. Adam, David (28 October 2004), Could you make a genetically targeted weapon?, The Guardian
  6. Preventing the use of biological and chemical weapons: 80 years on, Official Statement by Jacques Forster, vice-president of the ICRC, 10-06-2005
  7. Hacking the President’s DNA, The Atlantic, 2012 {{citation}}: |first= missing |last= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. Frontline What Happened in South Africa?
  9. Uzi Mahnaimi (1998-11-15). "Israel planning 'ethnic' bomb as Saddam caves in". The Sunday Times. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  10. "Israel's Ethnic Weapon?". Wired News. 1998-11-16.
  11. James Ridgeway (1999-02-02). "Ethnic Warfare". The Village Voice.
  12. "UPI report".
  13. "Debunking the "ethno-bomb"". Salon.com. 1998-12-02. Retrieved 2006-07-11.
  14. "Now Playing: A Blood Libel For The 21st Century". New York Post. 1998-11-22. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  15. "Россия блюдет человеческий образец". Kommersant. 2007-05-29. Retrieved 2007-05-29.

External links

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