Nexus - 0502 - New Times Magazine-pages

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mental subjects for biological and chemical weapons develop- ment. Meantime, at least 17 other countries, or groups and indi- viduals within those nations, are believed to be involved in bioweapons development. These nations include Bulgaria, China, Cuba, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Laos, Libya, North Korea, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Syria, Taiwan and Vietnam. mental subjects for biological and chemical weapons develop- like this one in the Minneapolis Tribune: "Government research ment. Meantime, at least 17 other countries, or groups and indi- has shown that even in an age of radar-bombing, it may be desir- viduals within those nations, are believed to be involved in able to hide cities with smokescreens in the event of atomic bioweapons development. These nations include Bulgaria, China, attack." Cuba, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Laos, Libya, North Another experiment, Operation Whitecoat (also known as "CD- Korea, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Syria, Taiwan and 22"), was conducted in 1955 with the aim of determining whether Vietnam. people were susceptible to infection from an aerosol of Rickettsia burnetii under field conditions. Initial tests had already been car- US Biowarfare Experiments ried out on guinea pigs and monkeys. The organisms were The US Army and the CIA, together with British agencies, used _ released from generators 3,200 feet upwind from target areas. citizens as human guinea pigs in trials of biological weapons. Rickettsia is known to cause Q-fever, the symptoms being pneu- Between 1949 and 1969 the US Army sprayed 239 populated monia, nausea and vomiting. areas from coast to coast (over cities, in buildings, on roads and in Operation Whitecoat purposely employed actual biological war- tunnels) with biowarfare agents and so-called biological simu- fare agents, not simulants. As Leonard Cole, an authority on the lants—watered-down versions of germ warfare agents. Some subject of biochemical warfare, commented, "Thus biological germ warfare agents are still being used in the US Army's current —_ agents that the United States planned to use against an enemy open-air testing program. were now being aimed at Americans". The spraying took place The 1977 Hearings of the Committee on Human Resources over Dugway Proving Ground. Once agents were released into Senate Sub-committee on Health and Scientific Research revealed the air, no one could control their path.'’ the nature and scope of the Army's germ warfare testing program. In his book, Clouds of Secrecy, Leonard Cole details the fol- Known as the "open-air testing pro- lowing germ warfare agents used in gram", the experiments involved tests on unsuspecting populations in spraying areas of Alaska and Hawaii, . the United States: as well as the cities of San Francisco, Since the late 1940s, the Aspergillus fumigatus: This fun- Washington, DC, and Key West and American British and Canadian gus, which causes aspergillosis, was 3 Panama City in Florida with toxic, widely used during tests over popu- virulent micro-organisms in order to governments, in joint exercises, lated areas in the 1950s. The fungus create what the Army referred to as Fs rer is important as a contaminant of "realistic threat scenarios". Some have used their citizens as lesions and as an agent of infection tests were more focused, with bacte- experimental subjects for of the lungs, bronchi, external ear, ria being sprayed onto the . . . paranasal sinuses, orbit, bones and Pennsylvania Turnpike and into the biological and chemical meninges. At the time of use, stan- New York City subway system. weapons development. dard medical texts that would have Other tests involved blanketing entire been available to the US Army US cities with germ warfare agents. acknowledged that the Aspergillus The organisms were sprayed over fumigatus organism was known to populated areas, supposedly to observe their paths in readiness for cause death, and not just in previously debilitated persons. a more deadly attack from the Soviet Union. Reports obtained under the Freedom of Information Act in 1980 At the time of the spraying it was known that the bacteria used show that the army deliberately exposed a disproportionate num- were harmful, even lethal to humans. While the US Army was er of black people to the pathogen. measuring air currents and survivability of the bacteria, no pre- Zinc cadmium sulphide: This chemical agent was widely cautions were taken to protect the health and welfare of millions used in US Army germ warfare tests over populated areas. Zinc of people exposed. cadmium sulphide is a dry fluorescent powder which is used as an In 1955, the CIA obtained quantities of Haemophilus pertussis atmospheric tracer. It is sprayed either on its own or in the com- (whooping cough bacterium) from Fort Detrick. The bacteria any of biological agents. When introduced to humans, cadmium were sprayed in "field trials" along Florida's Gulf coast. accumulates in tissues and is known to be toxic to almost all phys- According to Florida state medical records, the incidence of iological systems. whooping cough tripled that year compared to the previous year, Bacillus subtilis: This bacterium shares characteristics with with 12 deaths as opposed to one the year before.'° Bacillus anthracis which causes anthrax. It is considered harm- From the late 1940s and for a period of "several years", the ess to most people but may cause infections and invade the United States, Canada and Britain cooperated in spraying biologi- loodstream in cachectic (chronic, debilitating) diseases. In cal warfare pathogens in the area of the Bahamas in the West immunologically compromised hosts, Bacillus subtilis is known Indies. Thousands of animals died as a result of these tests, and, to cause pulmonary and localised infections (e.g., meningitis) although not reported, it is likely there were also human fatalities. when released in an enclosed space. The US Army's attack on During the "open-air testing program", the state actively New York City in 1966 exposed more than a million people to engaged in disinformation campaigns to cover up the true nature _ these bacteria. of biological weapons testing. For example, in the Minneapolis Serratia marcescens: Known to cause meningitis, wound area, the army held advance meetings with the Mayor and the infection and arthritis, the army sprayed the San Francisco Bay Public Utilities Committee. The officials were told that the tests area with this bacterium in 1950. involved efforts to measure ability to place smokescreens about According to Leonard Cole, "In 1984, on contract from the the city. This story was concocted to allay suspicions about army, a committee of the Board on Army Science and strange equipment and activities that people might have noticed. Technology of the National Academy of Sciences concluded that The disinformation effort included planting false news stories, the need for further open-air testing was ‘critical’. It urged the use Since the late 1940s, the American, British and Canadian governments, in joint exercises, have used their citizens as experimental subjects for biological and chemical ae a aD eat tao a 38 - NEXUS weapons development. FEBRUARY - MARCH 1998