Introduction to the subject of 20th century biological warfare programs

The history of biological warfare development by the world's 20th century superpowers has been covered by numerous authors, but the purpose of this blog is to consider how the legacy of those efforts has persisted into the 21st century.

The first topic we will be dealing with is the 2001 anthrax letters, postmarked September 18 2001 and October 9 2001, which resulted in five deaths, multiple hospitalizations, the closure of the legislative branch of the federal government, and mass panic on a nation-wide scale.

Almost a hundred years ago, one of the first people to consider the use of biological warfare noted that while such weapons might be ineffective on the battlefield, they might very well be used to "harass civilian populations" - a prophetic statement indeed.

I'll also try to point to some of the positive efforts being made by individuals and agencies to halt the spread of biological weapons. This blog intends to take a science-based approach to the subject, and will also hopefully serve as a repository of information that will be useful to journalists and others. It is not intended to serve as an arena for discussion - sorry, but I don't have time to moderate comments, and there are other excellent blogs on related subjects that do provide that service.