Although atom and hydrogen bombs are at the moment in the forefront of men's imaginations when they think of the disasters that science may bring, there is no reason to believe that the danger which they present is greater than that from other scientific sources. Bacteriological warfare has not yet been tried out in practice, but it is being carefully considered on both sides of the Iron Curtain. There are men who profess to have in a small bottle a sufficient supply of deadly micro-organisms to destroy the whole human race. It is as yet uncertain how far such methods can be successfully practised in war, but it would not be reasonable to suppose that the necessary discoveries will be long delayed.
Source: Bertrand Russell: Human Society in Ethics and Politics, 1954, part II: The Conflict of Passions, chapter 6: Scientific Technique and the Future, n4
More info.： https://russell-j.com/cool/47T-2_0604.htm
* a brief comment:
Various countries have conducted research and development on biological and chemical weapons, but there have been relatively few instances of their actual use in warfare. The most well-known case is that of Unit 731 of the Japanese military, which used plague, anthrax, and cholera bacteria in China during World War II.
Detailed reports on this have been broadcast on programs such as NHK Special, so many may already be familiar with the topic. However, here is a brief summary of key events.
・Japan's imminent defeat (1945): Members of Unit 731 destroyed facilities and burned documents to erase evidence.
・1946: The U.S. military investigated former members of Unit 731 and negotiated immunity from war crimes in exchange for biological warfare data.
・1981: Writer Seichi Morimura conducted an investigation and published The Devil's Gluttony, which exposed the reality of Unit 731.
→ This publication raised awareness in Japan, spreading knowledge about the unit's human experimentation and biological weapons development.
・1993: After the Cold War, the U.S. declassified some documents related to Unit 731.
・1997: The Chinese government opened the ruins of Unit 731's facility in Harbin as a museum for public viewing.
・2018: NHK aired a documentary featuring testimonies from former Unit 731 members.
→ The documentary confirmed that “human experimentation was actually conducted.”
Governments tend to conceal inconvenient truths. While they are "tolerant" when exposing the criminal acts of other nations, revealing their own wrongdoing is often considered a violation of national security laws.
By the way, the term "biochemical weapons" is sometimes used, but after discussing this with ChatGPT, it was pointed out that "biochemical weapons" is not an accurate term. Biological weapons and chemical weapons are generally considered distinct categories, and the more appropriate terms would be "biological and chemical weapons" or "biochemical and chemical weapons."
* Amazon Gift Card
