Le biologique, arme du XXIe siècle

Résumé En Fr

■ Thérèse Delpech, Bio Arms, the ultimate 21st Century Weapon The twentieth century, which cannot be said to have run short of massacres, has witnessed only a minute number of confirmed biological attacks. The reason for such a sparce use of biological weapons had less to do with international commitments undertaken by the vast majority of nations in 1925, than with questions raised within the military with regard to the actual practical utility of such weapons on the battlefield. This did not however prevent the Soviet Union from building a real biological empire for itself, nor did it prevent the proliferation of biological weapons programs in a large number of developing countries. The interest which terrorist groups manifest towards these types of weapons does moreover justify the development of a new approach towards proliferation and the possession of biological weapons by non-state actors. It is for all these reasons that the experience acquired in the 1990's through international inspection processes or revelations regarding states which have been conducting offensive biological activities ― the Soviet Union, Iraq and South Africa ― is so precious. Lessons may be learnt in order to improve prévention, detection and protection. The first line of defense against biological weapons is indeed the rational appraisal of all that has been witnessed and realised in the past, as well as all that is known today.

Le XXe siècle n'a connu qu'un très faible nombre d'attaques biologiques avérées, mais la guerre froide a permis la création d'un véritable empire biologique clandestin en URSS. De nombreux programmes biologiques offensifs ont aussi vu le jour dans les pays en développement. Aujourd'hui, les leçons des programmes passés les mieux connus - en URSS, en Irak et en Afrique du Sud - posent des questions essentielles sur leur détection, les moyens de contrôle, le rapport des proliférateurs avec les nouvelles formes de terrorisme ou, tout simplement, la responsabilité morale et politique des scientifiques.