Page 253 - NAVAL SCIENCE 3 TEXTBOOK

II Chemical, Biological, and Nuclear Warfare

The previous chapters of this lInit have discllssed various types of anthrax-laced mailings were sent to several private and U.S. govern-
weapons and wcapon systems with which the naval forces of the ment buildings following the terrorist ilt1acks of 11 September 200 I,
United States and other countries of the world are equipped. r.'{ost allegedly by a disgruntled government research scientist.
of these weapons depend for their effectiveness Oil the delivery of The age of lluclear weapons began in 1945 with the Allied use
some type of high-explosive warhead or explosive device. Such of the American-built atomic bomb against the Japanese cities
weapons are collectively called colll'eJIliol/(I/ weapolls. In addition Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the closing days of\Vorld \Var 11, fol-
to these, there arc other potentially far morc devastating types of lowed b)' the development of the h)'drogen bomb shortl), thereaf-
weapons in the arsenals of 1ll<1Il)' of tadar's military forces. These ter. The end of the war ushered in a flfty-year-long era of nudear
are collectively referred to as CBR wcnpoll5 (chemical, biologi- confrontation and stalemate between the Soviet Union and the
cal, and radiological or Illlclci.lr), or sometimes specia/lVeapollS or United States and their respective major power allies called the
lI'eapOI1S of 11/(155 riestrlfctioll, to differentiate them from cOllven- Cold "Val', which did not end until the dissolution of the USSR in
tional weapons. They call inflict massive destruction over a large the earl)' 1990s.
area, or mass casualties among a population.
Although they are often thought of along with nuclear weap-
ons as being relatively new concepts, in actllality chemical and bio-
logical agents (SUbstill1ces) have been in use in warfare for many
centuries. Even in ililCient times it was common practice to dis-
rupt an enemy's food-production capability by spreading salt on
agricultural fields, or contaminate the water supply by dumping
dead animals or vegetation into it. More lethal chemical weap-
ons such as Illustard (blister) gas were developed and used in the
trench warfare of \Vorld \Var I, and the lise of smoke of variolls
kinds to mask movements at sea was a major tactic until well after
the advent of radar in the mid-1940s.
Fortunately, the widespread use of chemical and biological
warfare agents in \Vorld \Var II and in Illore recent conflicts since
has been held in check for the Illost part by threats of retaliation
and international accords limiting their use, but many nations
still have some of these kinds of weapons. Their llse by unprinci-
pled nations against weaker foes unable to retaliate has been doc-
umented several times in recent decades, as for example Iraq's use
of blister gas against Iranian forces during their protracted war of An expanding circle of radioactive material sweeps out over target
ships moored at a mid-Pacific test site at Bikini atoll in 1946.
attrition in the 1980s, and Soviet use of blister and possibly nerve
gas against rebel Afghan forces during the sallle years.
Iraq's Saddam Hussein threatened to use chemical and possibly Fortunately much progress has been made since then with
biological agents against U.S. and other coalition torces, as well ilS disarmament negotiations and international accords among the
against Israel, during Operation Desert Storm in 1991. His forces set remaining world powers that has done much to limit the spread
fire to most of the oil wells in Kuwait following the Lri.lqi withdrawal, and diminish the stockpiles of CRR weapons. Nevertheless, some
the smoke ilnd soot frolll which greatl)' hindered occupying coali- threat of potential use of these weapons persists, especiall}' by
tion forces for months thereafter. In hIte 1995, a group of Japanese countries who might develop and lise thelll to blackmail their
terrorists used a nerw-gas agent in an i.lt1ack against civilians in a neighbors into submission if allowed to do so, and by extremists
Japanese subway, incapacitating all those exposed. More recently, and terrorists who manage to obtain weapons of this type. Thus,

259