Page "Biological warfare" Paragraph 15

It has been argued that rational people would never use biological weapons offensively.

The argument is that biological weapons cannot be controlled: the weapon could backfire and harm the army on the offensive, perhaps having even worse effects than on the target.

An agent like smallpox or other airborne viruses would almost certainly spread worldwide and ultimately infect the user's home country.

However, this argument does not necessarily apply to bacteria.

For example, anthrax can easily be controlled and even created in a garden shed.

Also, using microbial methods, bacteria can be suitably modified to be effective in only a narrow environmental range, the range of the target that distinctly differs from the army on the offensive.

Thus only the target might be affected adversely.

The weapon may be further used to bog down an advancing army making them more vulnerable to counter attack by the defending force.