In 1972 the United States and the Soviet Union signed a treaty. This treaty banned the use and production of all pathogenic weapons of mass destruction. After signing this treaty both countries knew they could now produce these weapons with little intervention from the world community.
The Russians violated the treaty much more blatantly than the U. S. , building over forty different facilities through out the Soviet Union. Some were located in residential area's and were disguised as apartment buildings.
The United States had several biological weapons facilities, including Pine Bluff in Arkansas, and also Fort Detrick, Maryland and Dugway Proving Grounds in Utah. Though both countries disavowed having these weapons programs, both had major, sophisticated and highly advanced biological weapons systems in place and fully operational. These facilities worked with the most dangerous pathogens known to mankind.
The Russians were working with agents such as, Anthrax, Plague, Ebola, Lassa, Hanta Virus, Marburg, and various others.
In 1979 an accident occurred at one of the Russian facilities.
The Severdlovsk accident-
The Sevedlovsk plant is located near the city of Kiev. A release of Anthrax occurred when an employee of the facility forgot to replace a filter on one of the fermenters . Close to 100 people died although the actual number of deaths is not known for certain.
At this point, the Soviet program began to unravel. The United States and England's Intelligence community now knew the Russian's had a major, sophisticated and highly advanced bio weapon's program in place.
The Russian program was capable of producing unlimited amounts of weapons grade, genetically engineered viruses and bacteria for which the public had absolutely no immunity to.
According to one American scientist "The Russian program was at such level of sophistication and capacity that it left one with the belief that disease could never be completely eradicated from this world after this point. The amounts of pathogens they could produce were simply beyond belief".
The United States and England began monitoring the Russian's with increasing alarm.
In 1986 a scientist from the program defected to England. His name was Valdimir Paceshneck, the director of the Soviet program. With Paceshneck's defection the full scope of the operation came into full view. Paceshneck died under mysterious circumstances several years later along with a large number of other microbiologists.
Paceshneck revealed that the Soviet's had disguised their bio-program as a civilian pharmaceutical company called Bio-Preperate.
In 1990 the deputy director and second in charge of Bio-Preperate defected to the United States. His name was Ken Alibeck. Alibeck was second in charge of Bio-Prepreate. With his defection the full scale of the Russian operation was finally known. The United States and England's intelligence communities were stunned by the massive, sophisticated infrastructure of the system.
Not only had the Russian's violated the 1972 treaty, they had produced so much Anthrax and Plague that even they were not
sure how much they had manufactured. When asked how much Anthrax they had produced, the Russian response was "It was in the thousands of tons, enough to destroy everything on the planet several times over".
After the Severdlovsk accident the Russians began building newer, massive facilities, the first being Stepnogorsk. Located in a remote part of Kazakhstan, the Stepnogorsk plant was the largest biological-weapons facility ever constructed in the world and was lavishly funded for over twenty years.
Home to the Soviet's top Microbiologists whose sole purpose was the production and development of weapon's grade Anthrax, the Stepnogorsk facility was designed to send any enemy back to the stone age.
Open air tests were common place with pathogens being released directly into the air. Having over 10 Huge fermenters and scores of smaller ones there simply was no limit to the amount of pathogens the Russians could produce. During a later inspection of the plant, the U. S. and England came to realize, had war broken out , the Russians would have not only won, but would have annihilated anyone who opposed them .
This was due to the fact that the Russians were much farther ahead of the west in research and an understanding of just how these pathogens functioned and could be used in an offensive situation. One Russian scientist was quoted as saying the United States and England would never match the level of sophistication of the program the Soviets had established and probably would never have the level of understanding about these pathogens that the Russian scientists had acquired.
The Vector Labs.
The Vector Lab Complex is located throughout the Soviet Union and works mostly with viruses not bacteria. Vector works with the most dangerous viruses known to mankind and also genetically engineered agents called a "Chimera virus" or combined pathogens such as Ebola and Small Pox. This Chimera is called "Black Small Pox".
Today with the collapse of the Soviet Union the danger of these pathogens has actually increased due to the fact that the Russians no longer have the funding to maintain these facilities or guard them. Some Labs and storage area's have no more than a chain link fence and a security guard for safety.
Some of the facilities are in extreme disrepair, and with no funding for dismantling them, the chance of theft or an accidental release is extremely high.
Another dangerous situation is the open air test facility in the Aral Sea called "Renaissance Island". The water was drained in the 1950's for failed farming programs. The sea is about one third it's original size. Scientists fear rodents could carry pathogens from the island to the mainland. Out Breaks of Anthrax are common in the area which has only a small area of water about four to five feet deep crossing over from the island.
In the 1990's the Russians buried tons of Anthrax after pouring Chlorine on the bacteria to kill the pathogen. Years later Russian and American teams discovered that the bacteria had not only survived but had actually become more virulent and had multiplied due to being a modified strain.
Another danger is the fact that the scientists on these programs were highly paid . When the Soviet Union Collapsed they found themselves unemployed with little hope of a position at a civilian company at that pay scale. Many left Russia to find employment in countries such as Iraq, Iran , Libya and others.
In an interview with white supremest and biological expert, Larry Wayne Harris, he was asked how difficult it would be to obtain Plague and Anthrax. His answer was "Not difficult at all. Rats above the 5000 foot level in California carry plague. To get a culture of Anthrax, just go to where cattle have died of the disease and get a sample".
When Harris was asked if he knew how to manufacture and disseminate bio weapons his answer was "Most defiantly". When he was asked if we were facing a biological Apocalypse his answer was "Most defiantly".
Harris was asked if he had to, would he use biological weapons against the public, his answer was "Yes".
By
Kenneth Lafler
No comments:
Post a Comment