Three articles in this issue (Levy and Sidel, Chess and Clarke, and Ziskin and Harris) describe the horrific potential impacts of WMDs and the capacity of the human race to respond to them.
In the worst case, as illustrated by the movie Outbreak (Punch Productions, Inc, and Warner Brothers Pictures, 1995), the successful delivery of a biological weapon could result in a 21st-century plague. Made infamous by the Japanese subway attack, by the Iraq–Iran war, and by the movie The Rock (Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films and Hollywood Pictures, 1996), chemical weapons can be brutally effective killers if delivered in a crowded place with limited ventilation.Īnthrax, smallpox, typhoid, and various other organisms can be lethal and infectious biological weapons. Mustard gas produces blisters, which can be fatal if they reach the respiratory system. When inhaled, nerve gas causes failure of the central nervous system.
The two most prevalent forms are “nerve” and “mustard” gases. Another type of WMD-chemical weapons-are derivatives of pesticides, designed to eradicate humans.
