[seahorse2]

I was listening to a Rumsfeld interview today. In that interview, he mentioned biological warfare as one of the future battles to fight in the asymetrical threat posed by terrorist organizatons.

Basically, he is correct in stating that terrorist organizations will attack points of weakness like cyberspace or using biological warfare. The difficulty in countering the asymetrical threat posed by terrorist groups is they don't recognize national boundaries and are loose knit organizations - basically, its difficult to identify those you are fighting.

How to counter? Using nonlethal biolgical warfare to either identify the organization or in certain cases, quell insurrection. For example, use of a nonlethal flu virus spread by a known terrorist host amongst his fellow terrorist, thus making identification of the terrorist organization easier. Maybe, use an informant to spread a virus, just as terrorist use suicide bombers, but this is simply an informant with known contacts in an organization spreading a flu virus within the organization.

Now, I know the virus would ultimately spread beyond the terrorist organization, but using calculations of spread rates and identifying relationships between flu victims, it seems the terrorist organization could be traced within the victims by calculating the spread rate and tracking victims geographically. Basically, using this as an identification tool. At a minimum, it could temporarily incapacitate an organizations ability to conduct terrorist operations.

Civil insurrection - riots. If there were a serious violent insurrection, introduction of a nonlethal flu like virus to incapacitate people in an area to quell, at least temporarily, the violent uprising.

I'm only brainstorming and waiting to have you guys cut my throat out.

[Dreamtwister]

I'm more concerned about genetically engineered *terminal* illnesses, who's treatments can only be obtained within "compliant" population centres.

"Be good little cattle, or we won't give you your meds..."

[PenultimateManStanding]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('seahorse2', '
')Civil insurrection - riots. If there were a serious violent insurrection, introduction of a nonlethal flu like virus to incapacitate people in an area to quell, at least temporarily, the violent uprising.

I'm only brainstorming and waiting to have you guys cut my throat out.

[emersonbiggins]

What's the difference between lethal & non-lethal to an organization that fails to see "collateral damage" as a serious issue?

[rogerhb]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('seahorse2', 'I') was listening to a Rumsfeld interview today.

[UIUCstudent01]

When I first saw "non-lethal biological warfare", I thought you were talking about the ability to spread 'pacification' diseases as talked about here.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he "new class of weapons" that Alibek describes Popov's creating in Biohazard is a case in point. Into a relatively innocuous bacterium responsible for a low-mortality pneumonia, Legionella pneumophila, Popov and his researchers spliced mammalian DNA that expressed fragments of myelin protein, the electrically insulating fatty layer that sheathes our neurons. In test animals, the pneumonia infection came and went, but the myelin fragments borne by the recombinant Legionella goaded the animals' immune systems to read their own natural myelin as pathogenic and to attack it. Brain damage, paralysis, and nearly 100 percent mortality resulted: Popov had created a biological weapon that in effect triggered rapid multiple sclerosis.

.... (page 6)

This vision of subtle bioweapons that modified behavior by targeting the nervous system -- inducing effects like temporary schizophrenia, memory loss, heightened aggression, immobilizing depression, or fear -- was irresistibly attractive to Biopreparat's senior military scientists. After Popov's defection, the research continued. In 1993 and 1994, two papers, copublished in Russian science journals by Ashmarin and some of Popov's former colleagues, described experiments in which vaccines of recombinant tularemia successfully produced beta-endorphins in test animals and thereby increased their thresholds of pain sensitivity. These apparently small claims amount to a proof of concept: bioweapons can be created that target the central nervous system, changing perception and behavior.

I asked Popov whether bioweaponeers could design pathogens that induced the type of effects usually associated with psychopharmaceuticals.

"Essentially, a pathogen is only a vehicle," Popov replied. "Those vehicles are available -- a huge number of pathogens you could use for different jobs. If the drug is a peptide like endorphin, that's simple. If you're talking about triggering the release of serotonin and dopamine -- absolutely possible. To cause amnesia, schizophrenia -- yes, it's theoretically possible with pathogens. If you talk about pacification of a subject population -- yes, it's possible.