After reading the transcript to the “Japanese Sarin Cult,” it is easy to see what an inherent threat Aum Shinrikyo was to Japan, and potentially to the United States. The overall evidence that is provided fully explains why this terrorist organization was in fact a threat to the Japanese people. Not only were numerous test drafts conducted, but there was an overwhelming amount of intelligence suggesting Asahara and his Aum were a threat to the Japanese people (Wright, 2008). Asahara and his Aum would ultimately bring panic and fear to the heart of Japan.
The interesting thing about Aum Shinrikyo is that they employed the use of chemical weapons, and that really hasn’t been done since WW1. Traditionally Sarin, and other chemical weapons were …show more content…
The reason for this is, because of the wide availability of the bacteria needed to produce these weapons, as well as how easy it is to mass-produce them. In the article “Bioterror in the Age of Biotechnology,” Gerstein really brings into perspective how relatively easy it is to mass-produce a bio weapon. Gerstein quotes former CIA director James Woolsey saying, “ that a B plus high school chemistry student could produce a bioterror weapon (Gerstein, 2010, p. 82).” With that statement, Gerstein really brings into perspective of how severe this new potential bio threat is for a cataclysmic terrorist event to occur in the United States. Another great point that Gerstein makes is to show us how a current terrorist organization, like al Qaeda, are in fact looking to develop biological weapons. Gerstein shows us this by providing us with actual accounts of al Qaeda documents that were seized in Afghanistan in 2001 stating their desire to develop such weapons (Gerstein, 2010, p. 81). Aum Shinrikyo used Sarin and other chemical agents to strike fear into Japan, think if they would have used a biological weapon that is just as capable of causing mass casualties, but also posses the ability to be dispersed in multiple ways, as well as the ability to go unnoticed for a lengthy amount of time. The use of biological weapons could have been enough to keep Aum Shinrikyo’s name away from the suspect’s list, which could have allowed them to continue to devastate Japan for a longer amount of
The interesting thing about Aum Shinrikyo is that they employed the use of chemical weapons, and that really hasn’t been done since WW1. Traditionally Sarin, and other chemical weapons were …show more content…
The reason for this is, because of the wide availability of the bacteria needed to produce these weapons, as well as how easy it is to mass-produce them. In the article “Bioterror in the Age of Biotechnology,” Gerstein really brings into perspective how relatively easy it is to mass-produce a bio weapon. Gerstein quotes former CIA director James Woolsey saying, “ that a B plus high school chemistry student could produce a bioterror weapon (Gerstein, 2010, p. 82).” With that statement, Gerstein really brings into perspective of how severe this new potential bio threat is for a cataclysmic terrorist event to occur in the United States. Another great point that Gerstein makes is to show us how a current terrorist organization, like al Qaeda, are in fact looking to develop biological weapons. Gerstein shows us this by providing us with actual accounts of al Qaeda documents that were seized in Afghanistan in 2001 stating their desire to develop such weapons (Gerstein, 2010, p. 81). Aum Shinrikyo used Sarin and other chemical agents to strike fear into Japan, think if they would have used a biological weapon that is just as capable of causing mass casualties, but also posses the ability to be dispersed in multiple ways, as well as the ability to go unnoticed for a lengthy amount of time. The use of biological weapons could have been enough to keep Aum Shinrikyo’s name away from the suspect’s list, which could have allowed them to continue to devastate Japan for a longer amount of