Chemical and Biological Weapons and Warfare
Chemical and Biological Weapons and Warfare.Chemical warfare is the military use of lethal, harassing, or incapacitating chemicals specifically designed to harm or to kill; biological warfare is the use of disease‐causing bacteria, viruses, rickettsia, or fungi; toxin warfare is the use of poisonous chemical substances naturally produced by living organisms, such as the highly lethal cobra toxin. These agents can be used to target humans, animals, and plants. The use of all such weapons has been condemned in customary and international law. Although allegations are numerous, confirmed or extensive use has been limited to a few conflicts in the twentieth century: notably World War I (1914–18), the Ethiopian‐Italian War (1935–36), and the Iran‐Iraq War (1980–88).
In World War I, lethal chemical warfare began on 22 April 1915 with the German release of chlorine gas at Ypres on the Flanders front. By the time U.S. troops entered combat, its...
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