Introduction
While the weaponry has progressed over the years, the reasons for use have not. It has always been about eliminating the other. That other is the civilization, group or idea that conflicts with our own. The whole point of further evolving the research of weapons has hinged on building a better killing machine. I think Lyon Playfair said it best in his statement in 1854 about the advancement of chemical weapons
“It is considered a legitimate mode of warfare to fill shells with molten metal which scatters among the enemy, and produced the most frightful modes of death. Why a poisonous vapor which would kill men without suffering is to be considered illegitimate warfare is incomprehensible. War is destruction, and the more destructive it can be made with the least suffering the sooner will be ended that barbarous method of protecting national rights. No doubt in time chemistry will be used to lessen the suffering of combatants, and even of criminals condemned to death”. [HILMAS et al. 2008: 11]
This research has brought us things like the hydrogen bomb, grenade, artillery cannon and the machine gun. But the most devastating weapons we have created are chemical and biological weapons. Most of these weapons cannot be seen, heard or avoided. By the time you realize what has happened, it is already too late. These weapons have the ability to blind, asphyxiate, burn, poison, contaminate natural resources, irritate, weaken and kill. The power of these weapons is unimaginable. A small dose of the modern developed bioweapons is enough to wipeout an entire city if dispersed in the correct manner. What makes these particularly deadly is the ability for the virus or bacteria to multiply and be passed from host to host.
Chemical and biological warfare are not new weapons. The use of poison tipped darts to infect the enemy over a short distance has now been perfected to the use of long ranged missiles capable of deploying deadly concoctions over a thousand miles away. Our prehistoric ancestors would be so proud.
I will begin this blog by giving a very basic history of the use of biological and chemical weapons preceding World War I. This will be followed by a description of chemical and biological weapons. Then I will discuss the wars that the United States and its allies participated in testing and use of chemical and biological weapons. I have chosen to limit myself to this specifically because the topic of chemical and biological warfare is very vast and involves many different aspects. Lastly I will touch on a few ways America and others have been attempting to dismantle these weapons.

