ISIS verse Al-Qaeda and Aum Shinrikyo—Using Chemical Weapons:
In attempting to answer if ISIS’s apocalyptic views of the world paired with their willingness to acquire and use chemical weapons can prove to be evidence that the group will seek and use nuclear weapons, comparing ISIS to al Qaeda and Aum Shinrikyo is necessary. Al- Qaeda followed a similar trajectory as ISIS in their pursuit and use of chemical weapons. In 2001, a computer was found at an Al Qaeda safe house containing information on project al-Zabadi, which showed that Al Qaeda sought to acquire chemical and biological weapons and had already tested nerve gases on dogs and rabbits. In 2003, seven extremists were arrested in the United Kingdom for the plot to use …show more content…
Aum Shinrikyo was based on its leader, Shoko Asahara, syncretic belief system, and much like ISIS, the group sought the end of times and used religious text to justify their use of violence. Aum Shinrikyo actively recruited physicists, chemists, biologists and engineers much like ISIS is doing today. Aum Shinrikyo experimented with and produced chemical agents like: sarin, VX, phosgene, and sodium cyanide. As well as biological weapons: anthrax, botulism and Q fever. Aum Shinrikyo was not on anyone’s radar until their attack on a subway station in central Tokyo on March 20, 1995, in which twelve people died and more than five thousand were injured. After the attack Japanese and American authorities discovered that the group owned a twelve acre chemical weapons factory in Tokyo, had one billion dollars in its bank accounts, claimed sixty thousand members worldwide, and found documents sized from Kiyohide Hayakawa containing: price quotes for several nuclear warheads, property in Australia containing uranium deposits, the attempted purchase of mining licenses from the Australian government, mechanical ditch diggers, gasoline generators, rented heavy earthmoving equipment and plans to ship uranium back to Japan. Aum Shinrikyo spent years building their WMD program, without being on anyone’s watch list, until the 1995 attack. If Aum Shinrikyo had been able to figure out how to construct an aerosol delivery vehicle instead of using plastic bags wrapped in paper that were punctured to release fumes, the number of casualties would have been immensely higher. With the failure of the 1995 attack, Aum Shinrikyo never fully recovered to the state it was once in and ultimately has not
In attempting to answer if ISIS’s apocalyptic views of the world paired with their willingness to acquire and use chemical weapons can prove to be evidence that the group will seek and use nuclear weapons, comparing ISIS to al Qaeda and Aum Shinrikyo is necessary. Al- Qaeda followed a similar trajectory as ISIS in their pursuit and use of chemical weapons. In 2001, a computer was found at an Al Qaeda safe house containing information on project al-Zabadi, which showed that Al Qaeda sought to acquire chemical and biological weapons and had already tested nerve gases on dogs and rabbits. In 2003, seven extremists were arrested in the United Kingdom for the plot to use …show more content…
Aum Shinrikyo was based on its leader, Shoko Asahara, syncretic belief system, and much like ISIS, the group sought the end of times and used religious text to justify their use of violence. Aum Shinrikyo actively recruited physicists, chemists, biologists and engineers much like ISIS is doing today. Aum Shinrikyo experimented with and produced chemical agents like: sarin, VX, phosgene, and sodium cyanide. As well as biological weapons: anthrax, botulism and Q fever. Aum Shinrikyo was not on anyone’s radar until their attack on a subway station in central Tokyo on March 20, 1995, in which twelve people died and more than five thousand were injured. After the attack Japanese and American authorities discovered that the group owned a twelve acre chemical weapons factory in Tokyo, had one billion dollars in its bank accounts, claimed sixty thousand members worldwide, and found documents sized from Kiyohide Hayakawa containing: price quotes for several nuclear warheads, property in Australia containing uranium deposits, the attempted purchase of mining licenses from the Australian government, mechanical ditch diggers, gasoline generators, rented heavy earthmoving equipment and plans to ship uranium back to Japan. Aum Shinrikyo spent years building their WMD program, without being on anyone’s watch list, until the 1995 attack. If Aum Shinrikyo had been able to figure out how to construct an aerosol delivery vehicle instead of using plastic bags wrapped in paper that were punctured to release fumes, the number of casualties would have been immensely higher. With the failure of the 1995 attack, Aum Shinrikyo never fully recovered to the state it was once in and ultimately has not