Entomological warfare - thoughts.

[Requia ☣]

What kind of bugs would be used to attack corn or soy crops?

How much protection does the heavy pesticide use give us against this kind of thing?  I've been thinking about the kind of position an attack or corn or soy would put us these days, but I hadn't thought about the insect angle.

[LMNO]

Cain might be able to answer why biowarfare in the form of insects hasn't been used by terrorists by now...but I would venture to say that it's just too stealth for them.  And not so very boomtastic as bombs and planes crashing.  Nonsexy in the terrorist world, so to speak, for lack of fanfare.

I think it would be more of a domestic terrorist plot, imho, like the nice white powder we saw so prevalent in '02.

Very nonsexy but very good at scaring people. So many people are afraid of bugs in the first place. I do remember reading a book about why certain methods weren't used by terrorists (like dirty bombs, or nukes), and it was along the lines you already said. Whats the point of using expensive, difficult to obtain and handle methods when good old gasoline will do the job? I mean, WTC didn't collapse due to the plane impact, those were strong buildings, but rather from the intense fire from the jet fuel bombs that the CIA planted in the building the week before.

[Kai]

What kind of bugs would be used to attack corn or soy crops?

How much protection does the heavy pesticide use give us against this kind of thing?  I've been thinking about the kind of position an attack or corn or soy would put us these days, but I hadn't thought about the insect angle.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/topic_field_corn_pest_insects and http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/topic_soybean_pest_insects will give you more information. The biggest issue is again, disease vectors. Given that most field crops are monocultures, an insect with a plant disease introduced into several fields over an area would be /devestating/.

Aside: Before people ceased rotating between wheat and maize in their fields, the corn silk borer (Helicoverpa zea) was a major problem, but it requires alternation between corn and another grass, so rotating it with soy excludes it completely.

[Kai]

Cain might be able to answer why biowarfare in the form of insects hasn't been used by terrorists by now...but I would venture to say that it's just too stealth for them.  And not so very boomtastic as bombs and planes crashing.  Nonsexy in the terrorist world, so to speak, for lack of fanfare.

I think it would be more of a domestic terrorist plot, imho, like the nice white powder we saw so prevalent in '02.

Very nonsexy but very good at scaring people. So many people are afraid of bugs in the first place. I do remember reading a book about why certain methods weren't used by terrorists (like dirty bombs, or nukes), and it was along the lines you already said. Whats the point of using expensive, difficult to obtain and handle methods when good old gasoline will do the job? I mean, WTC didn't collapse due to the plane impact, those were strong buildings, but rather from the intense fire from the jet fuel bombs that the CIA planted in the building the week before.

ICWUTUDIDTHAR

[LMNO]

[Jenne]

That's the Republican answer, btw, to Democrats' birther arguments and the takeover of the wackados in the GOP.

"Well, you guys have the 9/11 Conspiracy Theorists!"

[Requia ☣]

Yes but the dems never let them have control.  You can't fix crazy, but you can ignore it.

[Cain]

I'm honestly surprised Al Quaeda hasn't exploited any entomological warfare as of yet; release of a plague into your home town is far scarier than a bomb going off in some city a thousand miles away.

They overlooked it, in their quest for a nuclear weapon.

Ayman al-Zawahiri is actually on record as saying that they didn't even consider biological warfare of any sort until the USA mentioned it as a potential threat....and that this was very stupid, given he is a doctor and that many Al-Qaeda members have a biological sciences background.

[Requia ☣]

This is not comforting, especially given how brutally simple a flea vector black death bomb is.   

[Jenne]

Yeah, when doctors were found amongst the terrorists tracked and arrested (was it last year? or the year before?) in the UK, my husband and his dad thought twice about going to London and claiming their profession...along with their origins.  But you know, never pays to lie to customs...unless you can cover it up REAL REAL well.

[Cain]

I do believe many lower ranking Al-Qaeda members are not huge fans of biological weapons, however.  They have a deep-seated distaste for a self-replicating weapon that could get out of hand - it might end up killing large numbers of the Ummah, or community of Islam, and there is very little justification for that much death and destruction - even for takfiri terrorists.

Using it in America, they would likely have no problem with.  But infiltrating agents into America has always been very hard for them, and the American-Muslim community ain't down with the jihad.  And of course, its a no-no in the Middle East, and possibly Europe (the digital and logistic centre of the international jihad) too.

[LMNO]

Ignorant question:  Are there the same "cleanliness" taboos in Islam that would prevent them from using vermin and other disease-ridden animals when carrying out an attack?



Ok, thinking about it, terrorism itself is a violation of Islam, so I guess it's also a stupid question.

[Kai]

I'm honestly surprised Al Quaeda hasn't exploited any entomological warfare as of yet; release of a plague into your home town is far scarier than a bomb going off in some city a thousand miles away.

They overlooked it, in their quest for a nuclear weapon.

Ayman al-Zawahiri is actually on record as saying that they didn't even consider biological warfare of any sort until the USA mentioned it as a potential threat....and that this was very stupid, given he is a doctor and that many Al-Qaeda members have a biological sciences background.

Yeah, so basically, they've been stupid in some ways (for our grateful benefit).

A nuke may destroy a section of a city but a plague vector can roam over hundreds of miles...scary thought.

I do believe many lower ranking Al-Qaeda members are not huge fans of biological weapons, however.  They have a deep-seated distaste for a self-replicating weapon that could get out of hand - it might end up killing large numbers of the Ummah, or community of Islam, and there is very little justification for that much death and destruction - even for takfiri terrorists.

Using it in America, they would likely have no problem with.  But infiltrating agents into America has always been very hard for them, and the American-Muslim community ain't down with the jihad.  And of course, its a no-no in the Middle East, and possibly Europe (the digital and logistic centre of the international jihad) too.

Okay and okay. Thanks for your help.

Ignorant question:  Are there the same "cleanliness" taboos in Islam that would prevent them from using vermin and other disease-ridden animals when carrying out an attack?



Ok, thinking about it, terrorism itself is a violation of Islam, so I guess it's also a stupid question.

I've been considering both those questions.

Honestly though, I've been thinking beyond fasad-waging takfiri to domestic threats. For example, the aforementioned corporate warfare, economic warfare, and environmental terrorism. The Breeders incident in San Franscisco over Medflies comes to mind. It seems far more likely that a group named something like Earth's Soldiers would get their hand on some medflies or crop pests inoculated with plant diseases than for some hirabi to use this method.

Cain has said it before, that domestic terrorism is far more worrying.

[LMNO]

Ok, good point.  I fell into the "Turrurist = Mooslim" trap.


I am shamed. 


How much of a contradiction would it be if Earth First! used pestilence to fuck up the environment?

[Requia ☣]

Ung, I didn't even think about the eco terrorist thing.  Taking advantage of GE crops potential risk of disease would fit them pretty well wouldn't it.