Nonmilitary Defense: Chemical and Biological Defenses in Perspective

Abstract

This publication of the American Chemical Society directs attention to the problems of defense against chemical and biological warfare (CW-BW). The book is a compilation of an important portion of our civil defense programs and, as suggested early in the text, it portrays a defensive rather than offensive philosophy. It is a concrete demonstration of assuming responsibility to our families, our neighbors, and ourselves. Less apathy and more public support for sound civil defense programs should fulfill our moral responsibilities better than withdrawal in horror. An eminent American physician who had just spent a full day being briefed on the nature of CW-BW remarked, "Now that I've seen the potentialities of this type of warfare, I am no longer afraid of atomic warfare." This is an oversimplification, but it points up the fact that in this type of warfare a new concept is involved. An enemy may be able to