The Flaw in using Smallpox as a Weapon

11/15/02 | b.b.e.b.

[John W]

OK.If it was Saddam,and we know it,why not tell us?

[Caesar Soze]

I can think of lots of A-words, starting with aardvark, and I'm not really sure what you mean. Arabia? Attack? Alligator? Apple sauce? AIDS? Anthrax? It's anthrax, right?

[woofie]

I hope you are right but why do you suppose Russia,Iraq ,and a few other countries made a pile of it?

[Principled]

interesting link... thanks for digging it up...

[Principled]

If an anonomous smallpox attack should occur this would give all the reason in the word to the various muslim countries to blame the US and Israel.

Interesting... we vaccinate ourselves and allies and destroy the enemies with the pox?

[templar]

Interesting... we vaccinate ourselves and allies and destroy the enemies with the pox?

I hadn't thought about it quite that way, but it is a possibility, I suppose.

I was mostly thinking that, maybe, Iraq or some future ME enemy, losing popularity in the ME, might launch a smallpox attack on one of their own neighbors to gain united Islamic/Arabic support against the west. Our preparations against an attack against ourselves would likely be viewed by the Islamics and Arabs as preparation for a clandestine attack against them.

[Principled]

I get what you're saying.

if we're gonna get blamed anyway....hmmmm

[The Great Satan]

Correct.

[The Great Satan]

OK.If it was Saddam,and we know it,why not tell us?

Think about it.

[wingnuts'nbolts]

You however, are American and rational. Saddam is neither.
Do you remember when he gassed the Kurds, or set the oil fields on fire after Desert Storm? The guy is out there and when cornered he will do something dastardly. Why would he care if his neighbors get sick and die?

[John W]

I have.It occurs to me,regardless of the reason,it would not be good enough.I seriously doubt it would have its roots-the reason for not telling us,that is-in anything other than political viability and expediency.I would be seriously disappointed if that happened with this President.

[The Great Satan]

You're not thinking hard enough. War game it out.

[Southack]

I see very different "deterrents" to using smallpox as a weapon.

1. Smallpox can be defeated by taking the innoculation AFTER you contract the disease (you've got about two weeks to get the shot after you contract smallpox), so hitting an advanced enemy with smallpox is merely going to piss them off.

2. Most of the Western world over age 30 already has had a smallpox innoculation, and that will convey SOME immunity to this very day, so hitting such a population with smallpox won't be very effective even if new innoculations are scarce.

3. Smallpox doesn't kill immediately. If all that your population or army has is smallpox as a weapon, then your opponent will have a couple of weeks in which to still launch his retaliatory nuclear strikes, chemical attacks, biological attacks, and in general rain death down upon you and whatever other sorry suckers survive any of the former.