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The History of Bioterrorism in America
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Oliver Crangle
Oct 2, 2011, 6:22:01 PM10/2/11
to
By Richard Sanders,
Coordinator, Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade.
January 24, 2002
Who is behind the recent spate of Anthrax attacks? Who would
intentionally expose Americans to such deadly germs? To answer these
questions, it is useful to know that there have been previous cases
bioterrorism in the U.S. Previous incidents of bioterrorism in America
since WWII, although more widespread than this year's anthrax-related
incidents, received very little media attention.
The identitities of those who planned and perpetrated decades
ofbioterror attacks on Americans is known. Although they have admitted
their guilt - in written confessions to Congress - they remain immune
from prosecution. They are above the law.
In a 1977 special report to Congress, the U.S. Army admitted
conducting hundreds of chemical and biological warfare tests,
including at least 25 that deliberately targeted the unsuspecting
public. The military disclosed evidence that it had released disease-
causing germs in at least 48 open-air tests. (U.S. Army Activity in
the U.S. Biological Warfare Programs, 1942-1977. Vols 1 and 2,
February 24, 1977)
In 1994, Senator John D.Rocke-feller's report (Examining Biological
Experimentation on U.S. Military) further revealed that over the
previous 50 years, the U.S. military intentionally exposed hundreds of
thousands of their own soldiers to dangerous microbes, mustard and
nerve gas, radiation, hallucinogens and psychochemicals.
Recent bioterror attacks have prolonged the national crisis sparked on
September 11. Widespread concerns about anthrax have served those who
wish to promote the draconian laws that are descending upon the U.S.
Curiously, the strain of anthrax bacteria being used most likely
originates from the U.S. military (Debora MacKenzie, New Scientist,
October 24)
The following quotations, compiled from various sources, summarize the
shameful but little-known history of the U.S. military's
responsibility for exposing Americans to the terror of biological
weapons.
-------------------
1943 Fort Detrick:
The U.S. began research on biological weapons at Fort Detrick, MD.1
They studied anthrax, brucellosis, Botulinus toxin, plague, Sclerotium
rolfoil, late blight, late blast, brownspot of rice, rinderpest,
tularemia, mussel poisoning, coccidioidomycosis, rickettsia,
psittacosis, neurotropic encephalitis, Newcastle disease and fowl
plague.2
1945 Recruiting Nazis:
The U.S. State Department, Army intelligence and the CIA initiated
Project Paperclip to recruit Nazi scientists and offer them immunity
and secret identities in exchange for work on top secret, U.S.
government projects [including bio-warfare experiments on unwilling
human subjects].1
1946 Japanese war criminals:
The U.S. began negotiations with Japan to acquire their germ warfare
data. In exchange, Japanese scientists received immunity from
prosecution for their war crimes. Dr. Shiro Ishii, a physician and
army officer who began experiments in germ warfare in 1932 when Japan
invaded Manchuria, formed a biological-warfare unit (Unit 731) that
used Chinese soldiers and civilians as test subjects. About 9,000 died
of bubonic plague, cholera, anthrax and other diseases. U.S. soldiers
captured in the Philippines were sent to Unit 731 so the Japanese
could test biological weapons on them.2
1948 Cttee. on Biological Warfare:
The Secretary of Defense's Research and Development Board, requested
an evaluation of biological agents as weapons of sabotage. The
Committee on Biological Warfare recommended that methods be assessed
for disseminating biological agents, with emphasis on special
operations. It recommended research to test "innocuous organisms" in
ventilation systems, subways and public water supplies. This
influenced administrations for 20 years and the U.S. conducted highly-
classified scientific tests on unknowing populations throughout the
country.
The biological warfare research program in the early 1940s and 1950s
involved antipersonnel, anticrop and antianimal studies. Field trials
included open-air vulnerability testing, and contamination of public
water systems with live organisms such as Serratia marcescens. Covert
programs were conducted by the CIA. Pathogenic organisms were tested
in Florida and the Bahamas in the 1940s. Chemical anticrop studies
evaluated defoliation and crop destruction.3
1949 Germ bombs:
Explosive munitions tests with pathogens were begun.3
1950 The First "open air tests":
The first open-air tests with biological agents were conducted in
various locales, including off the coast of Norfolk, Virginia.3
1950 Spraying San Francisco:
The first large-scale, aerosol test was conducted in San Francisco Bay
in September 1950, using two species of bacteria (Bacillus globigii
and Serratia marcescens). Many experiments used various Bacillus
species because of their similarities to B. anthracis.3
On September 26 and 27, 1950, the U.S. Army sprayed S. marcescens from
a boat off the coast. On September 29, patients at San Francisco's
Stanford University Hospital began appearing with S. marcescens
infections.4 Many residents came down with pneumonia-like symptoms and
one died. A military, follow-up study showed that nearly every single
exposed person became infected with the test organism.5
The death of Edward J. Nevin was associated with this release of S.
marcescens.4 (The first lawsuit against the U.S. government was filed
by his family [in 1981]. The court decided that the U.S. government
could not be sued, under the Federal Tort Claims Act, since the
decision to spray S. marcescens was a part of national defense
planning.)3
1951 Racist Germs:
Army researchers deliberately exposed a disproportionate number of
black citizens to the fungus Aspergillus fumigatus, to see if African
Americans were more susceptible to such infection, like they were
already known to be to coccidioidomycosis (Coccidioides immitis).
Similarly, in 1951, unsuspecting [black] workers at the Norfolk Supply
Center, Norfolk, VA, were exposed to crates contaminated with A.
fumigatus spores.3
1955 Whooping Cough:
Tampa Bay, FA, experienced a sharp rise in Whooping Cough cases,
including 12 deaths, following a CIA bio-war test in which bacteria
from the Army's Chemical and Biological Warfare arsenal was released
to the environment.5
1951-1969 Dugway Proving Ground:
Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of open-air tests using bacteria and
viruses that cause disease in human, animals and plants were conducted
at Dugway Proving Ground, a military testing facility about 80 miles
from Salt Lake City, Utah. These tests were to determine how the
agents spread, survive and effect people and the environment.
It is unknown how many people in the vicinity were exposed to
potentially harmful agents during these open-air tests. In 1969,
concerns were expressed at a congressional hearing about the possible
public health implications of the VEE virus tested there.
University of Utah scientists and doctors are greatly concerned about
the potential health consequences not only for military personnel who
work and train at Dugway, but also for civilians who live in a nearby
small town and Indian reservation. Utah Medical Society physicians
complained about the lack of information provided to the medical
community.
According to Rutgers University political science professor Dr.
Leonard Cole, the use of potentially harmful chemical and biological
agents continues at Dugway. He testified that the U.S. Army uses
Bacillus subtilis "which is is recognized as a potential source of
infection and can cause serious illness in some people when they are
exposed to it in large numbers and they inhale large numbers of those
microorganisms."4
Mid1950s-early 1970s Project Shad:
The Dugway Proving Ground and Fort Douglas had a secret navy, called
Project Shad. Their ships sailed through clouds of germ and chemical
agents. Some sailors blame these tests for the cancer and other
diseases that they suffer from.6
1956 Operation Transit III:
One of Project Shad's first tests occurred in San Francisco Bay as
part of Operation Transit III. In September 1956, plans called for a
40-foot munitions boat to create clouds of Bacillus globigii germs
that the Eastman would travel through. Plans called for enough germs
to ensure that "a minimum respiratory dose of 10,000 organisms is
received on deck." Planners considered B. globigii a safe "simulant"
of more dangerous germs. (The U.S. Army still uses it for field
testing.)
The tests included dropping "20,000 gallons of BG (B. globigii)
slurry" from helicopters.6
1956 to 1958 Testing on Blacks:
The U.S. Army did field tests in the poor black communities of
Savannah, Georgia, and Avon Park, Florida, in which mosquitoes were
released into residential neighbourhoods from ground level and from
planes and helicopters. Many were swarmed by mosquitoes and developed
unknown fevers; some even died. After each test, Army personnel posing
as public health officials photographed and tested the victims and
then disappeared from town. It is theorized that the mosquitoes were
infected with a strain of Yellow Fever. Details of the tests remain
classified.5
1950s to 1970s Operation Whitecoat:
Many experiments that tested various biological agents on human
subjects, referred to as Operation Whitecoat, were carried out at Fort
Detrick, MD. The human subjects originally consisted of volunteer
enlisted men. However, after the enlisted men staged a sitdown strike
to obtain more information about the dangers of the biological tests,
Seventh-Day Adventists who were conscientious objectors were recruited
for the studies. Because they did not believe in engaging in actual
combat, they became human subjects in military research projects that
tested various infectious agents. At least 2,200 Seventh-Day
Adventists were used in biological testing during the 1950s through
the 1970s.4
1962 More on Project Shad:
Training outlines show that Project Shad sailors were briefed on work
with germs causing some of the deadliest diseases known, including
tularemia, anthrax, parrot fever, Q fever, African swine fever, the
plague and botulism.6
1963-1965 Project Shad ships "participated in 111 tests" using nerve
agents GB and VX, and biological agents Bacillus globigii, Serratia
marcescens and Escherichia coli. (Letter from Maj.Gen. L.J.Del Rosso,
Army director of space and special weapons, to Senator Steve Symms, R-
Idaho, 1992)6
1966 New York Subway:
From June 7-10, the U.S. Army's Special Operations Division dispensed
[Bacillus subtilis var niger3] throughout the New York City subway
system. The Army's justification for the experiment was the fact that
there are many subways in the USSR, Europe and South America. Details
of the experiment are still classified.5 More than a million were
exposed when army scientists dropped lightbulbs filled with the
bacteria onto ventilation grates.1
1987 Continued Research:
The Department of Defense admitted that, despite a treaty banning
research and development of biological agents, it continues to do
research at 127 facilities and universities in the U.S.1
Sources:
1. "A History of Secret Human Experimentation," Health News Network,
http://www.healthnewsnet.com/humanexperiments.html
2. "Beyond AIDS: The West's Covert Chemical-Biological Warfare
Programs" http://www.wakeupmag.co.uk/articles/biochem.htm
3. David R. Franz, D.V.M., PH.D., Cheryl D. Parrott and Ernest T.
Takafuji, M.D., M.P.H., "The U.S. Biological Warfare and Biological
Defense Programs" (Ch.19) http://ccc.apgea.army.mil/Documents/
4. Examining Biological Experimentation on U.S. Military, The
Rockefeller Report (1994) http://www.trufax.org/trans/roc23.html
5. "Beyond AIDS: The West's Covert Chemical-Biological Warfare
Programs" http://www.wakeupmag.co.uk/articles/biochem.htm
6. Lee Davidson, "Secrets at Sea: Cloud of Secrecy Lifting on Dugway
Navy's Tests of Germ and Chemical Agents in the Pacific during Vietnam
War" (October 22, 1995) Registry of Atomic Testing Survivors
http://people.ne.mediaone.net/kknowlto/navy.htm
The History of Bioterrorism in America
Posted: Sunday, November 24, 2002
http://raceandhistory.com/selfnews/printnews.cgi?newsid1038118811,57464,.shtml
Coordinator, Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade.
January 24, 2002
Who is behind the recent spate of Anthrax attacks? Who would
intentionally expose Americans to such deadly germs? To answer these
questions, it is useful to know that there have been previous cases
bioterrorism in the U.S. Previous incidents of bioterrorism in America
since WWII, although more widespread than this year's anthrax-related
incidents, received very little media attention.
The identitities of those who planned and perpetrated decades
ofbioterror attacks on Americans is known. Although they have admitted
their guilt - in written confessions to Congress - they remain immune
from prosecution. They are above the law.
In a 1977 special report to Congress, the U.S. Army admitted
conducting hundreds of chemical and biological warfare tests,
including at least 25 that deliberately targeted the unsuspecting
public. The military disclosed evidence that it had released disease-
causing germs in at least 48 open-air tests. (U.S. Army Activity in
the U.S. Biological Warfare Programs, 1942-1977. Vols 1 and 2,
February 24, 1977)
In 1994, Senator John D.Rocke-feller's report (Examining Biological
Experimentation on U.S. Military) further revealed that over the
previous 50 years, the U.S. military intentionally exposed hundreds of
thousands of their own soldiers to dangerous microbes, mustard and
nerve gas, radiation, hallucinogens and psychochemicals.
Recent bioterror attacks have prolonged the national crisis sparked on
September 11. Widespread concerns about anthrax have served those who
wish to promote the draconian laws that are descending upon the U.S.
Curiously, the strain of anthrax bacteria being used most likely
originates from the U.S. military (Debora MacKenzie, New Scientist,
October 24)
The following quotations, compiled from various sources, summarize the
shameful but little-known history of the U.S. military's
responsibility for exposing Americans to the terror of biological
weapons.
-------------------
1943 Fort Detrick:
The U.S. began research on biological weapons at Fort Detrick, MD.1
They studied anthrax, brucellosis, Botulinus toxin, plague, Sclerotium
rolfoil, late blight, late blast, brownspot of rice, rinderpest,
tularemia, mussel poisoning, coccidioidomycosis, rickettsia,
psittacosis, neurotropic encephalitis, Newcastle disease and fowl
plague.2
1945 Recruiting Nazis:
The U.S. State Department, Army intelligence and the CIA initiated
Project Paperclip to recruit Nazi scientists and offer them immunity
and secret identities in exchange for work on top secret, U.S.
government projects [including bio-warfare experiments on unwilling
human subjects].1
1946 Japanese war criminals:
The U.S. began negotiations with Japan to acquire their germ warfare
data. In exchange, Japanese scientists received immunity from
prosecution for their war crimes. Dr. Shiro Ishii, a physician and
army officer who began experiments in germ warfare in 1932 when Japan
invaded Manchuria, formed a biological-warfare unit (Unit 731) that
used Chinese soldiers and civilians as test subjects. About 9,000 died
of bubonic plague, cholera, anthrax and other diseases. U.S. soldiers
captured in the Philippines were sent to Unit 731 so the Japanese
could test biological weapons on them.2
1948 Cttee. on Biological Warfare:
The Secretary of Defense's Research and Development Board, requested
an evaluation of biological agents as weapons of sabotage. The
Committee on Biological Warfare recommended that methods be assessed
for disseminating biological agents, with emphasis on special
operations. It recommended research to test "innocuous organisms" in
ventilation systems, subways and public water supplies. This
influenced administrations for 20 years and the U.S. conducted highly-
classified scientific tests on unknowing populations throughout the
country.
The biological warfare research program in the early 1940s and 1950s
involved antipersonnel, anticrop and antianimal studies. Field trials
included open-air vulnerability testing, and contamination of public
water systems with live organisms such as Serratia marcescens. Covert
programs were conducted by the CIA. Pathogenic organisms were tested
in Florida and the Bahamas in the 1940s. Chemical anticrop studies
evaluated defoliation and crop destruction.3
1949 Germ bombs:
Explosive munitions tests with pathogens were begun.3
1950 The First "open air tests":
The first open-air tests with biological agents were conducted in
various locales, including off the coast of Norfolk, Virginia.3
1950 Spraying San Francisco:
The first large-scale, aerosol test was conducted in San Francisco Bay
in September 1950, using two species of bacteria (Bacillus globigii
and Serratia marcescens). Many experiments used various Bacillus
species because of their similarities to B. anthracis.3
On September 26 and 27, 1950, the U.S. Army sprayed S. marcescens from
a boat off the coast. On September 29, patients at San Francisco's
Stanford University Hospital began appearing with S. marcescens
infections.4 Many residents came down with pneumonia-like symptoms and
one died. A military, follow-up study showed that nearly every single
exposed person became infected with the test organism.5
The death of Edward J. Nevin was associated with this release of S.
marcescens.4 (The first lawsuit against the U.S. government was filed
by his family [in 1981]. The court decided that the U.S. government
could not be sued, under the Federal Tort Claims Act, since the
decision to spray S. marcescens was a part of national defense
planning.)3
1951 Racist Germs:
Army researchers deliberately exposed a disproportionate number of
black citizens to the fungus Aspergillus fumigatus, to see if African
Americans were more susceptible to such infection, like they were
already known to be to coccidioidomycosis (Coccidioides immitis).
Similarly, in 1951, unsuspecting [black] workers at the Norfolk Supply
Center, Norfolk, VA, were exposed to crates contaminated with A.
fumigatus spores.3
1955 Whooping Cough:
Tampa Bay, FA, experienced a sharp rise in Whooping Cough cases,
including 12 deaths, following a CIA bio-war test in which bacteria
from the Army's Chemical and Biological Warfare arsenal was released
to the environment.5
1951-1969 Dugway Proving Ground:
Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of open-air tests using bacteria and
viruses that cause disease in human, animals and plants were conducted
at Dugway Proving Ground, a military testing facility about 80 miles
from Salt Lake City, Utah. These tests were to determine how the
agents spread, survive and effect people and the environment.
It is unknown how many people in the vicinity were exposed to
potentially harmful agents during these open-air tests. In 1969,
concerns were expressed at a congressional hearing about the possible
public health implications of the VEE virus tested there.
University of Utah scientists and doctors are greatly concerned about
the potential health consequences not only for military personnel who
work and train at Dugway, but also for civilians who live in a nearby
small town and Indian reservation. Utah Medical Society physicians
complained about the lack of information provided to the medical
community.
According to Rutgers University political science professor Dr.
Leonard Cole, the use of potentially harmful chemical and biological
agents continues at Dugway. He testified that the U.S. Army uses
Bacillus subtilis "which is is recognized as a potential source of
infection and can cause serious illness in some people when they are
exposed to it in large numbers and they inhale large numbers of those
microorganisms."4
Mid1950s-early 1970s Project Shad:
The Dugway Proving Ground and Fort Douglas had a secret navy, called
Project Shad. Their ships sailed through clouds of germ and chemical
agents. Some sailors blame these tests for the cancer and other
diseases that they suffer from.6
1956 Operation Transit III:
One of Project Shad's first tests occurred in San Francisco Bay as
part of Operation Transit III. In September 1956, plans called for a
40-foot munitions boat to create clouds of Bacillus globigii germs
that the Eastman would travel through. Plans called for enough germs
to ensure that "a minimum respiratory dose of 10,000 organisms is
received on deck." Planners considered B. globigii a safe "simulant"
of more dangerous germs. (The U.S. Army still uses it for field
testing.)
The tests included dropping "20,000 gallons of BG (B. globigii)
slurry" from helicopters.6
1956 to 1958 Testing on Blacks:
The U.S. Army did field tests in the poor black communities of
Savannah, Georgia, and Avon Park, Florida, in which mosquitoes were
released into residential neighbourhoods from ground level and from
planes and helicopters. Many were swarmed by mosquitoes and developed
unknown fevers; some even died. After each test, Army personnel posing
as public health officials photographed and tested the victims and
then disappeared from town. It is theorized that the mosquitoes were
infected with a strain of Yellow Fever. Details of the tests remain
classified.5
1950s to 1970s Operation Whitecoat:
Many experiments that tested various biological agents on human
subjects, referred to as Operation Whitecoat, were carried out at Fort
Detrick, MD. The human subjects originally consisted of volunteer
enlisted men. However, after the enlisted men staged a sitdown strike
to obtain more information about the dangers of the biological tests,
Seventh-Day Adventists who were conscientious objectors were recruited
for the studies. Because they did not believe in engaging in actual
combat, they became human subjects in military research projects that
tested various infectious agents. At least 2,200 Seventh-Day
Adventists were used in biological testing during the 1950s through
the 1970s.4
1962 More on Project Shad:
Training outlines show that Project Shad sailors were briefed on work
with germs causing some of the deadliest diseases known, including
tularemia, anthrax, parrot fever, Q fever, African swine fever, the
plague and botulism.6
1963-1965 Project Shad ships "participated in 111 tests" using nerve
agents GB and VX, and biological agents Bacillus globigii, Serratia
marcescens and Escherichia coli. (Letter from Maj.Gen. L.J.Del Rosso,
Army director of space and special weapons, to Senator Steve Symms, R-
Idaho, 1992)6
1966 New York Subway:
From June 7-10, the U.S. Army's Special Operations Division dispensed
[Bacillus subtilis var niger3] throughout the New York City subway
system. The Army's justification for the experiment was the fact that
there are many subways in the USSR, Europe and South America. Details
of the experiment are still classified.5 More than a million were
exposed when army scientists dropped lightbulbs filled with the
bacteria onto ventilation grates.1
1987 Continued Research:
The Department of Defense admitted that, despite a treaty banning
research and development of biological agents, it continues to do
research at 127 facilities and universities in the U.S.1
Sources:
1. "A History of Secret Human Experimentation," Health News Network,
http://www.healthnewsnet.com/humanexperiments.html
2. "Beyond AIDS: The West's Covert Chemical-Biological Warfare
Programs" http://www.wakeupmag.co.uk/articles/biochem.htm
3. David R. Franz, D.V.M., PH.D., Cheryl D. Parrott and Ernest T.
Takafuji, M.D., M.P.H., "The U.S. Biological Warfare and Biological
Defense Programs" (Ch.19) http://ccc.apgea.army.mil/Documents/
4. Examining Biological Experimentation on U.S. Military, The
Rockefeller Report (1994) http://www.trufax.org/trans/roc23.html
5. "Beyond AIDS: The West's Covert Chemical-Biological Warfare
Programs" http://www.wakeupmag.co.uk/articles/biochem.htm
6. Lee Davidson, "Secrets at Sea: Cloud of Secrecy Lifting on Dugway
Navy's Tests of Germ and Chemical Agents in the Pacific during Vietnam
War" (October 22, 1995) Registry of Atomic Testing Survivors
http://people.ne.mediaone.net/kknowlto/navy.htm
The History of Bioterrorism in America
Posted: Sunday, November 24, 2002
http://raceandhistory.com/selfnews/printnews.cgi?newsid1038118811,57464,.shtml
Bob
Jan 30, 2012, 12:51:09 AM1/30/12
to
Coordinator, Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade", and his masking out the
lack of differentiation in UN small arms.....
Laws Rocket launchers/SAMs and CCW derringers are NOT really the
same thing as the UN small arms declares.....they are somehow quite a bit
different.
But in a world of Chemical warfare, are you going to defend
yourself from nuclear fallout, anthrax, with a Glock or ACP...nope!
Thanx for the post.
Bob
--
Triad Productions-Fantalla~EZine~ParaNovel
National Association of Assault Research
(http://mypage.uniserve.com/~vampire-inter/badcop.html)
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