Experts have given grim warnings that coronavirus could be weaponised as the next generation of biological warfare by despotic regimes and by terrorist groups.
There has been much controversy over whether or not coronavirus was developed as biological weapon, but there is no confirmed evidence as yet.
It is strongly believed that coronavirus originated at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China, which also develops bio-weapons.
Genetic analysis has now proved that the virus was not man made, but it can be used to unleash for a bio-weapon sometime in the future.
Last month the US FBI warned local police agencies that “Members of extremist groups are encouraging one another to spread the virus, if contracted, through bodily fluids and personal interactions.”
A state administration official told Politico in May that exposure to government employees “is a real concern.”
Bundeep Singh Rangar told the Express, “From a military point of view, biological warfare’s deepest effects are evident through the coronavirus contagion.
“I’m not necessarily saying this pandemic was caused by germ warfare effect, or the Chinese released this on purpose.
“But I do believe that if anybody wanted to indulge in germ warfare, they’ve got a great case study of what could happen.
“The virus has apparently gone through approximately 186 different mutations, and some are more virulent strains and others and they affect people in different ways.
“It’s not just respiratory but it’s also digestive and it also seems to be affecting the heart: different effects are taking place and yet it’s so insulated from certain things.
“It doesn’t enter your bloodstream and it’s not carried out of some liquid carrier, whether it’s human saliva, for example.
“So it’s got these traits that if someone wanted to build a biological weapon, not just for attacking people or soldiers in a field, but a nation in its entirety, they’ve got a great a great case study here.”
Rangar added, “And then any conventional army attack would be a hell of a lot easier.
“It’s like aerial bombardment, which doesn’t help you conquer land, but it helps bring an enemy to the knees, making it a relatively easier march against the adversary.”
Andy Weber, who served as assistant secretary of defense for nuclear, chemical and biological defense programs under President Obama, “In its natural state, the current virus could be used as a bio-weapon by less sophisticated groups. Or, for a nation-state with a more advanced biological weapons program, this virus could be given enhanced characteristics.”
Weber, who is now a senior fellow at the Council on Strategic Risks, noted that the risk of coronavirus being repurposed as an offensive weapon increases as more is learned about coronavirus.
This is the one reason why the national security community have now started to take the possibility seriously.
Weber said, “In terms of bio-terrorism, Covid is very accessible,” and “Samples are available all over the world.”
He added, “Adversaries only have to observe the havoc that this pandemic is wreaking to know that if they wanted to launch a bio attack, it could do a lot of damage.
“It also provides the added benefit of some plausible deniability. There is obviously the potential blowback on your own population, but depending on the adversary, they may just not care.”
A source told the Express, “If Russian President Vladimir Putin wished to invade the rest of Ukraine, rather than just Crimea, he could find some way of sending this to Ukraine.
“This would cripple their soldiers and he could then jam their electronic signals, followed by a massive computer viral attack.
“You don’t need to have this massive conventional warfare.
“Its implications are not just dangerous but unprecedented.”
Leave a Comment