Description
Assignment
Address each of the following prompts through a thesis-centered 1,400- to 2,100-word essay:
What types of dangers do chemical toxins/agents or biological weapons (not both) pose to individuals and communities?
How can individuals and communities be best prepared to prevent or respond to incidents of chemical or biological terrorism? Ideally, you will want to evaluate this question in terms of your own community in preparation for the final essay of the course.
In addition,
your essay must identify at least three citations of reviewed articles and
include an annotated bibliography on one of these articles focused on the descriptive style.
The descriptive style is focused on describing the findings of the article. Specifically:
Who wrote it?
What was their research plan?
What were their findings?
What are the failings or weaknesses of the research?
Your word count does not include the annotated bibliography.
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CRJ 553 Module 2
Assignment
Address each of the following prompts through a thesis-centered 1,400- to 2,100-word essay:
•
•
What types of dangers do chemical toxins/agents or biological weapons (not both)
pose to individuals and communities?
How can individuals and communities be best prepared to prevent or respond to
incidents of chemical or biological terrorism? Ideally, you will want to evaluate this
question in terms of your own community in preparation for the final essay of the
course.
In addition,
•
•
your essay must identify at least three citations of reviewed articles and
include an annotated bibliography on one of these articles focused on the descriptive
style.
o The descriptive style is focused on describing the findings of the article.
Specifically:
▪ Who wrote it?
▪ What was their research plan?
▪ What were their findings?
▪ What are the failings or weaknesses of the research?
Your word count does not include the annotated bibliography.
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1. Required Reading
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TEXTBOOK: Chapter 4 & 5: Terrorist Organizations and Weapons of Mass
Destruction; pp. 29 – 135. Cook, Alethia. 2017. Rowman & Littlefield.
• PUBLICATION: National Academies & U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
“Chemical Attack Fact Sheet: Warfare Agents, Industrial Chemicals, and Toxins.”
Can be accessed via this link. Links to an external site.
• PUBLICATION: National Academies & U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
“Chemical Attack Fact Sheet: Warfare Agents, Industrial Chemicals, and Toxins.”
Can be accessed via this linkLinks to an external site..
• Module 2 Content
“Chemical Secrets of the Iraq War”, 15 October 2014, accessed via YouTube by The
New York Times [13:25]
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Chemical Secrets of the Iraq War | Times Documentaries | The New York
TimesLinks to an external site.
Unraveling the Long-Term Effects of Chemical Weapons” – Science Magazine (4
January 2018). Accessed via
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this linkLinks to an external site.
Length: 6 minutes, 45 seconds.
from SCIENCE.
2. Introduction
New terrorism is defined partially by the attempt to acquire WMDs,
specifically chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear. These weapons are abbreviated
as CBRN.
Contrary to popular belief, most violent extremist groups are relatively conservative in their
weaponry choice, opting for one that are high impact but effective. CBRN often requires highly
skilled individuals to acquire and use; therefore, most groups hesitate to spend time on their
acquisition. Chemical and biological weapons, however, are the exception and have been used
by violent extremist organizations and other non-state actors on numerous occasions.
3. Chemical Weapons
The “C” in CBRN stands for chemical weapons. Chemical weapons include chemical warfare
agents, industrial chemicals and toxins.
A chemical attack occurs when there is “spreading of toxic chemicals with the intent to do
harm.” (National Academies & U.S. Department of Homeland Security)
Examples of chemical weapons include:
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Mustard gas
Sarin
Lewisite
Hydrogen cyanide
Cyanogen chloride
Chlorine
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Chosgene
You will learn more about these in the required reading from this module.
Now, watch this short video titled, “A Century of Chemical Weapons” produced by The New
York Times about the history of the use of chemical weapons by both state and non-state actors.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7KbW8zX6Q0Links to an external site.
4. The Development and Testing of Chemical Weapons
This chart gives an idea of the complexity involved in developing and testing of chemical
weapons.
https://tutorials.nti.org/chemical-weapons-nonproliferation/how-chemical-weapons-work/
5. Effects of Chemical Weapons
In some cases, chemical toxins not only cause injuries but also death if inhaled or absorbed.
There are multiple variables that determine the lethality or long-term effects of chemical
weapons or toxins.
Now you will be asked to watch this video on the long-term effects of chemical weapons in Iraq
and Iran when multiple chemical agents were used as weapons to include sulfur gas and mustard
gas.
As you watch the video, take notes about these long-term effects and compare them to what you
read in the publication from the National Academies and U.S. Department of Homeland
Security.
Watch “Unraveling the long-term effects of chemical weapons,” accessed via YouTube by the
Science Channel [6:06]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeD0VxHV9e8Links to an external
site.
6. Biological Weapons
A biological attack using biological weapons is the “intentional release of a pathogen (diseasecausing agent) or biotoxin (poisonous substance produced by a living organism) against humans,
plants or animals.” (National Academies & U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2019)
Bioterrorism incidents have spiked since 1985, with sharp increases in 1998 and 2001.
Examples of biological weapons include:
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Bacteria – anthrax or plague
Viruses – smallpox or ebola
Biotoxins – botulism.
Different biothreat agents pose different risks and can be disseminated in different ways.
For example, biothreat agents can be disseminated via aerosol dissemination, food or water,
human carriers, infected animals or even physically distributed through the mail system.
Watch this short video about bio threats from the Nuclear Threat Initiative.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XkGChXp2qc&feature=emb_logoLinks to an external site.
7. Effects of Biological Weapons
Biothreat agents can have a devastating effect on individuals or groups that are targeted.
You will learn more about these effects in your reading.
8. Violent Extremist’ Pursuit & Use of Chemical & Biological Weapons
Violent extremist groups have sought to use both chemical and biological
weapons to carry out terrorist attacks because of their relatively low cost,
simple delivery and psychological impact. (National Threat Initiative,
2015).
Examples of the use of chemical weapons:
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1995 – Japanese religious group Aum Shinrikyo releases liquid sarin on the Tokyo subway.
17 people were killed and 5,500 were sent to the hospital. All seven members responsible
for the attack were sentenced to death by hanging.
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Photo retrieved from Aum Shinrikyo: Images from the 1995 Tokyo Sarin attackLinks to
an external site.)
o 2016 – Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh) used chemical
weapons in Syria. Specifically, the group used sulfur mustard at Umm Hawsh
in Syria. (United Nations, 2017)
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2017 – ISIL/Da’esh used sarin gas to kill approximately 100 people in Khan
Shykhun, Syria. (United Nations, 2017)
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1984 – Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, founder of the Rajneeshee cult,
gave commissioners in Washington State water contaminated
with salmonella typhimurium. To disrupt upcoming elections, Rajneesh
contaminated food at local restaurants, resulting in 751 casese of enteritis.
(Photo of Rajneesh and his group’s members.)
9. Supplemental Reading
These materials are provided to you to allow you to explore the subjects we cover in class in more
depth. You are not required to use these materials, but you can access them for enrichment or later
reading.
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Frischknecht F. (2003). The history of biological warfare. Human experimentation,
modern nightmares and lone madmen in the twentieth century. EMBO reports, 4 Spec
No(Suppl 1), S47–S52. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.embor.embor849Links to an external
site.
Keremidis, H., Appel, B., Menrath, A., Normark, K., Roffey, R., Knutsson, R. (September
2013). Biosecurity and bioterrorism: Biodefense strategy, practice and science. Volume
11, Issue S1. S17 – S24.
Martin, JW., Christopher, GW., Eitzen Jr, E. Chapter 1: History of Biological Weapons:
From Poisoned Darts to International Epidemics. Medical Aspects of Biological Warfare.
Pp. 1 – 20. https://fas.org/irp/threat/cbw/medical.pdfLinks to an external site.
Nuclear Threat Initiative. “Chemical Weapons Nonproliferation.” Modules 1 – 6. Accessed
via https://tutorials.nti.org/chemical-weapons-nonproliferation/introduction/Links to an
external site..
Nuclear Threat Initiative. The Biological Threat: Germs Don’t Respect Borders, So
Biological Threats – Manmade and Naturally Occurring — Can Quickly Have Global
Impacts.” Accessed via https://www.nti.org/learn/biological/Links to an external site..
Nuclear Threat Initiative. “The Chemical Threat: These Banned Weapons Just Won’t Go
Away.” Accessed via https://www.nti.org/learn/chemical/Links to an external site..
Riedel S. (2004). Biological warfare and bioterrorism: a historical review. Proceedings
(Baylor University. Medical Center), 17(4), 400–
406. https://doi.org/10.1080/08998280.2004.11928002Links to an external site.
10. Citations
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Learner, KL. (2016). Da’esh (aka Islamic State, ISIS, and/or ISIL) Use of Chemical
Weapons in Iraq Raises Questions about
Source. https://scholar.harvard.edu/kleelerner/publications/daesh-aka-islamic-stateisis-andor-isil-use-chemical-weapons-iraq-raisesLinks to an external site..
Martin, JW., Christopher, GW., Eitzen Jr, E. Chapter 1: History of Biological Weapons:
From Poisoned Darts to International Epidemics. Medical Aspects of Biological Warfare.
Pp. 1 – 20. https://fas.org/irp/threat/cbw/medical.pdfLinks to an external site.
National Academies & U.S. Department of Homeland Security. (13 March 2019) “Fact
Sheet: Human Pathogens, Biotoxins, and Agricultural Threats.”
National Academies & U.S. Department of Homeland Security. (13 March 2019)
“Chemical Attack Fact Sheet: Warfare Agents, Industrial Chemicals, and Toxins.”
Nuclear Threat Initiative. (30 November 2015). The Biological Threat: Germs Don’t
Respect Borders, So Biological Threats – Manmade and Naturally Occurring — Can
Quickly Have Global Impacts.” Accessed via https://www.nti.org/learn/biological/Links
to an external site..
United Nations. (7 November 2017). Government, Islamic State Known to Have Used Gas
in Syria, Organisation for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons Head Tells Security Council.
Security Council Meeting 9090th
Meeting. https://www.un.org/press/en/2017/sc13060.doc.htmLinks to an external site.
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