Armed Conflicts, Featured, Global, Global Geopolitics, Global Governance, Headlines, IPS UN: Inside the Glasshouse, Peace, TerraViva United Nations
UNITED NATIONS, Mar 20 2020 (IPS) - The devastating spread of the deadly coronavirus across every continent with the exception of Antarctica has triggered a conspiracy theory on social media: what if the virus was really a biological weapon?
And more specifically, was it an experimental weapon that accidentally escaped from a laboratory in China?
Or as others contend, is it a weapon surreptitiously introduced to de-stabilize a country with more than 1.4 billion people and described as the worlds second largest economy, after the United States.
Both narratives are considered false, and probably part of a deliberate disinformation campaign, according to military experts.
Still, in the US, Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas has repeated the charge that the virus was a creation of the Chinese military while others source it to North Korea.
And US President Donald Trump has been roundly condemned for a racist remark after describing the deadly disease as a Chinese virus.
But one hard fact remains: the potentially destructive power of biological weapons, which were banned by an international convention, going back to 1975.
Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates predicted in a TED talk in 2015: If anything kills over 10 million people in the next few decades, it is likely to be a highly infectious virus, rather than a war.
They will not be missiles, he warned, but microbes.
And two years later, according to GeekWire, Gates repeated the same warning at a side event during the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos: Its pretty surprising how little preparedness there is for it, Gates was quoted as saying in 2017.
Addressing the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Seattle last month, Gates said the impact of COVID-19 could be very, very dramatic, particularly if it spreads to areas like sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia.
Meanwhile, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has pledged about $100 million to fight the virus, as part of its broader efforts in global health.
Dr Filippa Lentzos
In theory, she pointed out, any virus could be used as a weapon, but historically some agents have been viewed as more effective than others, e.g. anthrax, brucellosis, Q fever, tularaemia, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, glanders, plague, Marburg virus disease and smallpox.
She pointed out that much will depend on what ends or purpose the weapons are being used for.
In terms of the coronavirus, there would no longer be a surprise factor, and resistance to the virus may in future have been built up, though the jury is still out on that one.
As of March 19, the coronavirus has accounted for over 208,000 positive cases worldwide and over 8,700 deathsand rising.
In the United States, there have been 49 deaths so far, and over 10,000 positive cases of the spreading virus.
The New York Times of March 18 cites a study by Imperial College, London, which estimates the virus can kill over 250,000 in the UK and more than a million in the US - unless officials took action to slow its spread.
Asked if there are any countries identified as still manufacturing or hoarding biological weapons despite their ban, Dr Lentzos said over the past 100 years, about 25 countries are believed to have possessed a biological weapons programme for some period of time.
Most programmes were of a short duration. They were small and developed limited, unsophisticated capabilities.
Credit: United Nations
Only two countries are known to have had sophisticated capabilities that could inflict mass casualties or extensive economic harm: the United States and the Soviet Union (now Russia), said Dr Lentzos, who is also a Senior Research Fellow at Kings College London and a biosecurity columnist at the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
Today, she said, there is limited public information on possible illicit biological weapons activity. The main concern today is not really that countries have offensive biological warfare programmes, but that they are building dual use capabilities.
Asked about the use of biological weapons as part of germ warfare during World War I, she said there was some covert use by Germany during World War I to infect horses with biological agents to block their use by Allied military forces.
In World War II, there were substantial covert attacks on China by Japan, as well as some clandestine use in Europe against Germany. There has been very limited known use since 1945, said Dr Lentzos, who is also an Associate Editor of the journal BioSocieties, and the NGO Coordinator for the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention.
According to the Washington-based Arms Control Association, the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) is a legally binding treaty that outlaw biological arms.
Opened for signature on April 10, 1972, the BWC entered into force on March 26, 1975. It currently has 182 states-parties. Ten states have neither signed nor ratified the BWC, including Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Israel, Kiribati, Micronesia, Namibia, South Sudan and Tuvalu.
*Thalif Deen is a former Director, Foreign Military Markets at Defense Marketing Services; Senior Defense Analyst at Forecast International; and military editor Middle East/Africa at Janes Information Group.
Here is the original post:
Could the Coronavirus Be a Biological Weapon in the Not-Too-Distant Future? - Inter Press Service
- Xinhua Headlines: In Harbin's icy embrace, tourists flock to offer condolences, cherish memories - Xinhua - February 11th, 2024 [February 11th, 2024]
- Empires of lies The China Project - The China Project - October 22nd, 2023 [October 22nd, 2023]
- Official records on Japanese Imperial Army unit unearthed | NHK ... - NHK WORLD - August 26th, 2023 [August 26th, 2023]
- Today's Nuclear Balance of Power: The Wells of Doom - Executive Intelligence Review (EIR) - August 26th, 2023 [August 26th, 2023]
- People thought the Beatles were God. That's not correct: the ... - Louder - August 26th, 2023 [August 26th, 2023]
- The startling role that disease played in human evolution - Sydney Morning Herald - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Celebrate Mothers Day With These 15 Stuntcasted Sitcom Moms - Cracked.com - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Smallpox in Canada | The Canadian Encyclopedia - November 27th, 2022 [November 27th, 2022]
- Microorganism - Wikipedia - November 23rd, 2022 [November 23rd, 2022]
- Andrew Kaufman on the false germ paradigm - Jerm Warfare - November 16th, 2022 [November 16th, 2022]
- The Strategic National Stockpile failed during COVID and monkeypox. Will it come through next time? - Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists - October 2nd, 2022 [October 2nd, 2022]
- The SKELP Directives: U.S. Secret Financing of Germ Warfare during the ... - September 29th, 2022 [September 29th, 2022]
- Germ Warfare: GSA Supports Rapid Deployment of Xenex LightStrike Germ ... - August 25th, 2022 [August 25th, 2022]
- You need to watch the most underrated apocalypse movie before it leaves HBO Max this week - Inverse - July 29th, 2022 [July 29th, 2022]
- Allegations of biological warfare in the Korean War - Wikipedia - June 24th, 2022 [June 24th, 2022]
- The deadly germ warfare island abandoned by the Soviets - BBC - May 9th, 2022 [May 9th, 2022]
- The Terrifying Cherry Blossoms at Night of the Japanese Military - SOFREP - May 3rd, 2022 [May 3rd, 2022]
- Avoid Chinas stockmarket heres what to invest in instead - MoneyWeek - May 3rd, 2022 [May 3rd, 2022]
- A Perfect Storm Could Make Measles a Nightmare in 2022, WHO and UNICEF Warn - Gizmodo Australia - May 3rd, 2022 [May 3rd, 2022]
- Colwell: Things would surely be different in Ukraine if Trump were president - South Bend Tribune - April 9th, 2022 [April 9th, 2022]
- Patriotic Propaganda: Staying silent as a choice when what is seen does not match with what is believed - Milwaukee Independent - April 9th, 2022 [April 9th, 2022]
- Germ warfare: Saginaw hospital becomes battleground in U.S ... - March 15th, 2022 [March 15th, 2022]
- U.S. Biological Weapons in UkraineSeparating the Facts From the Fiction - Newsweek - March 15th, 2022 [March 15th, 2022]
- Wanted: A rallying cry to hold back the coming 'Dark... - Daily Maverick - March 15th, 2022 [March 15th, 2022]
- Putin's Apocalypse: How Far Is the Russian President Willing To Go? - DER SPIEGEL International Edition - March 15th, 2022 [March 15th, 2022]
- Yamashita: The pandemic generation will learn to succeed - Guam Pacific Daily News - February 17th, 2022 [February 17th, 2022]
- Bill M. McClure Obituary - Times Record - Times Record - February 17th, 2022 [February 17th, 2022]
- Urban explorer sneaks on to top secret germ warfare base known as UKs Area 51 exposing security ris... - The Sun - February 5th, 2022 [February 5th, 2022]
- Modern warfare - Wikipedia - February 3rd, 2022 [February 3rd, 2022]
- US Military Released Bacteria to Test Biological Warfare - February 3rd, 2022 [February 3rd, 2022]
- This week in Texas History: Spanish flu, our ancestors' pandemic - Hays Free Press - February 3rd, 2022 [February 3rd, 2022]
- Yamashita: Boundaries should be respected | Opinion | guampdn.com - Guam Pacific Daily News - February 3rd, 2022 [February 3rd, 2022]
- The Army tested 'germ warfare' on the NYC subway by ... - January 24th, 2022 [January 24th, 2022]
- Biological Warfare: Infectious Disease and Bioterrorism - January 24th, 2022 [January 24th, 2022]
- Opinion: Vaccines are a tool, not a silver bullet. If we'd allowed more scientific debate, we would have realized this earlier - The Globe and Mail - January 24th, 2022 [January 24th, 2022]
- SARS: A Mystery Illness To Impact Air Travel - Aviation Week - December 10th, 2021 [December 10th, 2021]
- We Need To Protect Earth (And Space) From Interplanetary Invaders - IFLScience - November 21st, 2021 [November 21st, 2021]
- Louis Pasteur | Science History Institute - November 19th, 2021 [November 19th, 2021]
- Pontiac's War - Wikipedia - November 19th, 2021 [November 19th, 2021]
- Japan and weapons of mass destruction - Wikipedia - November 19th, 2021 [November 19th, 2021]
- Andreas Kluth - The War of Nerves on Europe's Border Could Turn Hot - Asharq Al-awsat - English - November 17th, 2021 [November 17th, 2021]
- Microorganisms as potent biological weapons The National - The National - November 15th, 2021 [November 15th, 2021]
- Who is and what does the playwright Yunior Garca Aguilera think, the promoter of the new protests in Cuba - Market Research Telecast - November 15th, 2021 [November 15th, 2021]
- Terrorists will wage terrifying new biowar as Wuhan lab leak chaos shows they could get away with mur... - The Sun - November 9th, 2021 [November 9th, 2021]
- US vicious slanders on China over COVID-19 origins tracing and the truth (Part 7) - China.org.cn - November 9th, 2021 [November 9th, 2021]
- Scientists, Emergency Planners Conducting Air Flow Study In NYC This Week To Improve Response Protocols - CBS New York - October 21st, 2021 [October 21st, 2021]
- Letter to the Editor - Masks: one of the three best defenses in modern germ warfare - The Havre Daily News - September 27th, 2021 [September 27th, 2021]
- Ancient Greek Medicine: Who Was Hippocrates And What Was The Hippocratic Oath? - BBC History Magazine - September 27th, 2021 [September 27th, 2021]
- The US government's comic approach to information warfare - Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists - September 20th, 2021 [September 20th, 2021]
- The enduring appeal of the Bond villain - Spectator.co.uk - September 4th, 2021 [September 4th, 2021]
- Letters To The Editor Week of 8/16/2021 | The Press - Press Publications Inc. - August 14th, 2021 [August 14th, 2021]
- Talk of the Town: | Blowing Rocket | wataugademocrat.com - Watauga Democrat - July 29th, 2021 [July 29th, 2021]
- Letter to the Editor: Joe Bialek - Atlanta Jewish Times - July 18th, 2021 [July 18th, 2021]
- America's Impressive History of Bioweapons Attacks Against Its Own People - CounterPunch.org - CounterPunch - July 10th, 2021 [July 10th, 2021]
- Lee Camp: Americas impressive history of bioweapons attacks against its own people - RT - July 10th, 2021 [July 10th, 2021]
- Laboratory leaks have happened before more frequently than we would like to believe - Yahoo Eurosport UK - June 4th, 2021 [June 4th, 2021]
- Biden's Renewed Interest in COVID Lab Leak Theory Likely to Worsen Anti-Asian Sentiment - UrduPoint News - June 4th, 2021 [June 4th, 2021]
- 10 Fascinating Facts About The US Army - War History Online - June 4th, 2021 [June 4th, 2021]
- US targeting China to hide its own past: expert - Chinadaily USA - May 31st, 2021 [May 31st, 2021]
- Dr. Fauci Just Discovered What Rush Told Us Last Year - Rush Limbaugh - May 31st, 2021 [May 31st, 2021]
- Everything is reopening. But lets not bring back the handshake, OK? - The Boston Globe - May 20th, 2021 [May 20th, 2021]
- Fake news, conspiracy theories and a deadly global pandemic and that was in 1918 - Salon - May 9th, 2021 [May 9th, 2021]
- North Korea and China Accused America of Biowarfare During the Korean War - The National Interest - April 21st, 2021 [April 21st, 2021]
- Top Secret: Russia Had a Military Accident With Anthrax in 1979 - The National Interest - March 26th, 2021 [March 26th, 2021]
- Chaos Walking: Wanna Hear What Tom Hollands Thinking? Think Again - Rolling Stone - March 7th, 2021 [March 7th, 2021]
- Josh Freed: COVID has robbed us of small talk, and that's a big deal - Montreal Gazette - February 21st, 2021 [February 21st, 2021]
- Letter to Editor | Letters to the Editor - Hermann Advertiser Courier - February 8th, 2021 [February 8th, 2021]
- Letter: Need to return to united, not divided states - Whidbey News-Times - February 8th, 2021 [February 8th, 2021]
- Whats Keeping the Vaccine From Getting to Those Who Need it Most? - The Nation - February 8th, 2021 [February 8th, 2021]
- Letter: Need to return to united, not divided states - South Whidbey Record - February 2nd, 2021 [February 2nd, 2021]
- Bill Gates: 3 innovations that will help America get ahead of the next pandemic - CNBC - February 2nd, 2021 [February 2nd, 2021]
- 1887: The invasion of the rabbit - Stuff.co.nz - February 2nd, 2021 [February 2nd, 2021]
- The Recorder - My Turn: Germ warfare - The Recorder - January 25th, 2021 [January 25th, 2021]
- Paul Kaufman on Trump and nuclear weapons - Newham Recorder - January 25th, 2021 [January 25th, 2021]
- Biological warfare experiment in India and the curious case of yellow fever mosquitoes - Frontline - January 21st, 2021 [January 21st, 2021]
- How the KGB convinced the world that AIDS was a Pentagon invention - Russia Beyond - January 21st, 2021 [January 21st, 2021]
- South African Doctor Who Tried to Wipe Out Black People Still Practising - iAfrica.com - January 21st, 2021 [January 21st, 2021]
- The militarization of American democracy | TheHill - The Hill - January 21st, 2021 [January 21st, 2021]
- The BroadsheetDAILY ~ 1/14/21 ~ State Extends, Expands Eviction and Foreclosure Bans Credited with Saving Thousands of Lives - ebroadsheet.com - January 15th, 2021 [January 15th, 2021]
- Measuring Impact in a Complex and Interconnected World - Chief Executive Group - January 15th, 2021 [January 15th, 2021]