According to Boyle, the United States government initiated, sustained, and then dramatically expanded an illegal biological arms buildup. The new billion dollar US Chemical and Biological Defense Program has been reoriented to mesh neatly with the neo-conservative, preemptive strike agenda, this time by biological and chemical warfare. The United States has always had an extremely aggressive, offensive biological warfare program dating back to World War II, and that it was none other than "Tricky Dick" Richard Nixon who terminated this program in 1960, not for moral reasons, but for reasons of Machiavellian realpolitik.
Hard to imagine that Nixon would put an end to chemical and biological warfare based on moral reasons. He felt that chemical and biological weapons were counterproductive militarily and could potentially blow back on our own troops in the field. Second, he felt that we already possess overwhelming nuclear forces. Thus, Nixon's objective in banning chemical and biological weapons was to take it out of the hands of third world leaders. So he ordered the complete destruction of all biological agents and munitions. However, the CIA, using a loop in the act, was able to maintain an active biological weapons research program in complete violation of international law.
However, political conditions changed in 1981. The Reagan Administration came to power, and many neo-conservatives came to Washington along with the new president. Their new position was that American must exploit its technological superiority in all fields of scientific endeavor across the board for war related purposes, including chemical and biological weapons.
This book also sheds new light on the nature of the dreaded anthrax attack on Congress and raises some important questions that remain unanswered. Why did this unprecedented event disappear so swiftly from public media discussion? Why has Congress itself failed to pursue both the specific instance and the ramifications of this terrorist attack upon it, and the failure to find a perpetrator? Why has there been no outcry at that failure? For what reasons might the true perpetrators never be found?
Article comments
1 - Robert
From the review, this book seems a little conspiracy minded. Alright, more than a little. Why did the anthrax attack disappear from the media? Huh?!? It is THE event that kicked off the massive biodefense budget increase and no new funding is announced without bringing up the anthrax attacks. Why has no one been caught? Good question. Because they are too smart? Because they got lucky? Because the FBI is incompetent? All of the above?
Come on folks. Buy a clue. I've worked for the government for years. The whole thing is far too big, far too disorganized to have a conspiracy last very long. There is no covert U.S. offensive biological warfare effort. Those secrets are the most fleeting of all.