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reThe coronavirus has spread throughout the world. It cannot be seen, felt or tasted. And yet our entire life now revolves around Sars-CoV-2 and its aftermath. Humanity has largely recognized the virus as a threat. That could spell the end of this story.
It’s not because of people like Andrew Weber. He belongs to a group of experts who believe that most people still have no idea what is perhaps the most dangerous threat posed by deadly viruses: biological warfare agents.
Weber works for the “Council on Strategic Risks,” one of the many security policy think tanks in Washington. Most of his professional life he has been concerned with the dangers of military use of viruses and other natural pathogens. 17 years as a consultant at the Pentagon. Weber sounds the alarm. He says the danger from biological warfare agents is definitely underestimated. The wrong virus, grown in the laboratory and used as a weapon, could spread much more aggressively than the coronavirus, which does not come from a laboratory. A man-made virus could kill up to 30 percent of the people who come in contact with it.
Natural toxins have been used as a weapon for centuries.
There is a reason the danger has been forgotten: natural pathogens and toxins have gone out of fashion for military purposes. For a long time they were part of the special repertoire. Scythian horse nomads are said to have put their arrows in contact with body parts as early as the 4th century BC. C. to infect their opponents with pathogens. Persians, Greeks, and Romans threw animal carcasses into their opponents’ water to contaminate it. During the Middle Ages, the plague became the preferred biological warfare agent. The Tatars hurled infected corpses with the help of catapults into the besieged city of Caffa on the Crimean peninsula to force their surrender. Later, when Europeans settled in North America, smallpox became a horror for the natives. Yellow fever played this role in the American Civil War.
In the 20th century, attempts were made to breed bacteria to turn biological warfare agents into the weapons of mass destruction that are considered today. German troops experimented with anthrax during World War I. During World War II, the Japanese launched plague fleas on Chinese territory. During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union maintained massive biological weapons programs, but without satisfactory results. In the end, they signed the international biological weapons convention, which has prohibited the development, manufacture and storage of biological weapons since 1975. 182 states have already signed the treaty.
That changes little in Weber’s concern. Because the contract is weak. There is no verification mechanism. Instead, there are signs of states that are undermining it. Weber is safe from North Korea. “We know that the country has advanced biological weapons capabilities.” Its assessment is consistent with that of the United States Department of State. A report released in April 2020 said that North Korea had an offensive biological weapons program. It should serve to counter the military superiority of the United States and South Korea. However, no details are given. The State Department also raised concerns about China, Iran and Russia, but without showing any breach of contract.
Blind to the next catastrophe?
In addition to states breaking the deal, Weber’s concern is non-state actors. “There are terrorist groups and even individuals who can carry out attacks with biological warfare agents.” There have been several incidents. One of them happened in Germany. In June 2018, police officers found substances used to produce ricin in an apartment in Cologne. The Tunisian who lives there, an Islamist, was sentenced to 10 years in prison in March this year. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, an American microbiologist sent letters containing anthrax to American politicians, newspapers and news channels. Explosively, he had worked at a US military infectious disease research facility. When he found out about the investigation, he committed suicide. As early as 1984, members of the Bhagwan sect in the US state of Oregon had infected salad bars and vegetable counters with the Salmonella bacteria in various restaurants. More than 750 people contracted food poisoning.
