This is a new topic devoted to the posting of known uses of weapons of mass destruction through out history.

These weapons can nuclear, biological, toxicological, chemical, directed energy, or physical in nature. Lets automatically disuade the discussion of the use of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and nakasaki: those topics have been discussed on another post.

Let just see what the people in this forum know about these uses.

My contribution: First use of a directed energy weapon: According to Roman writers who chronicled the life of Archimedes, the mathematician was a devoted subject of Hiero II, ruler of Syracuse, and spent part of his career designing and building weapons to defend Syracuse -- catapults, pulley hoists and levers for disabling enemy ships and siege towers. The ancient historians Polybius, Plutarch and Pliny the Elder all mention such inventions, although none was alive in Archimedes' lifetime. Some Greco-Roman historians also assert that during the Roman siege of Syracuse from 214 to 212 B.C., at the height of the Second Punic War, Archimedes used bronze mirrors to focus sunlight on Roman ships and set them on fire.

A lot of people poo pooed this idea as crazy, couldnt happen. Go to the following link, and learn what happened when a bunch of modern greeks held up polished bronze mirrors on a boat to see if it would work:

http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Mirrors.htm

let see what you folks come up with.

During the Siege of Caffa in 1346, the bubonic plague broke out among the Muslim invaders. The disease was new and unknown to the Muslims. They flung diseased corpes over the city walls which infected the Christian defenders. The idea was a success, and the disease led to the fall of Caffa.

The story is controversial and its authenticity is often disputed, but it is very well-known and documented in many places.

Think>Push>Talk.

Whoops sorry about that sir

unit 371 in the jap army used anthrax as well as other chemicals in their fighting against china. they invaded in 1931 and went till 1945.

If you ever get a chance, try reading the book "Devils Gluttony". This one usally was available overseas and not in the US, but is very good in the techical details about Unit 731.

Another good book to read is "A higher form of Killing". thisone deals mostly with chemical warfare programs, although the story of the brits intended use of anthrax has a very notable chapter.

in nam ( 1969 i think ) the americans sprayed "agent orange" a concoction of some of the most lethal diseases and chemicals known to man. "agent orange" not only killed thousands of civvies, but left the soil and the women infertile. those that were lucky enough to be able to have babies gave birth to mutants, with protruding eyeballs and other deformities.

Excuse me, but would you care to back up some of the outrageous claims you just made

Agent Orange was/is a defoliant and while it is somewhat toxic to human on an immediate basis, the true problem with it (other than damage to the trees) is that it causes cancer in those exposed to it. I have never heard that it also caused birth defects - especially those you mention. Be so kind as to site some sources.

the vietnamese folks. there's a pic somewhere, let me find it.......


and anyway.....i never said that it was true, just a rumour, but when you get pics like this:






the mind starts to wonder........

check out www.angelfire.com and click on hell USA or something.

I took a quick look at some of the Agent Orange website and most of them are run by lawyers seeking plaintiffs for lawsuits or anti-US rant pages. I was not able to find any mention of scientific studies that link Agent Orange to birth defects. I am definitely not saying that it is not possible or didn't happen, just pointing out that you can find anything on the web and most of that is not true (just look at Snopes.com).

That would seem to disqualify, for now, Agent Orange as a WMD, unless you are a tree of course

you should have seen this picture that i was trying to find.....it was horrible...but yes, you're right.

well some more information about agent orange:

Guys, it wasnt the defoiliant that was the problem. It was contamination with TCDD, or dioxin. TCDD is one of a family of dioxins, some found in nature, and are cousins of the dibenzofurans and pcb's.

http://www.lewispublishing.com/orange.htm this is a fairly impartial site.

you see, there were plenty of herbicides used in Viet nam. Only the orange has been suspect to date.

Just to give you idea about how the US officials feel about dioxin, they bought and closed a small town in missouri because of the widespead contamination of diesel fuel with dioxins that had been sprayed on the roads to control dusts.

It wasnt deliberate. It just happened that way. But it was because it was a contaminant, and not the defoiliant itself, that caused the Government to be able to say with a straight face, that the defoiliant was safe, and not the cause of all the problems.