I probably should have written about this earlier…
In response to Jonathan Tucker’s article “The Body’s Own Bioweapons” in the March/April issue, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists is hosting a roundtable discussion on non-lethal and incapacitating agents. The participants are Jonathan Tucker, Alan Pearson, Paul Aas and Ralf Trapp and they have been contributing to the forum since early March. In many cases the discussion turns to the CWC and how these agents are and should be treated under the Convention.
Dear Dr. Tucker,
I have read some of the reports regarding incapacitants, yours among them.
Have you read my recent book “Chemical Warfare Secrets Almost Forgotten” available through my web site (forgottensecrets.net)?
In my book, I recount, based on my intimate involvement with the Army’s research program with enlisted volunteers during the 1960s. Among other things, it provides previously unreleased data we acquired through systematic studies of potential chemical incapacitating agents. It also addresses some of the notions advanced by the Univ. of Penn pharmacologists regarding possible use of various “bioincapacitants” based on existing chemicals produced by the brain. I must regard these ideas as fanciful, and beyond technical practicality. When one considers the quantities that would be required to produce, say, an aerosol cloud affecting an enemy unit in the field, not to mention the prohibitive costs, technical challenges of packaging, dissemination, and passage into the brain, it is difficult to regard such substances as realistic weapons, even “in ten years” as Dr. Klotz and others estimate.
Since few “chemical warfare watchers” seem inclined to favor the development of incapacitating agents that are safe and effective, I am in a beleaguered minority in this debate. However, I would welcome a chance to exchange ideas and facts with you. I hope you have read, or will read my book, which is now in 15 countries and has been favorably reviewed in a number of publications, including USA Today, and Wired Magazine (by Nora Weinberger, who calls it a “must read”). I would be happy to send a free copy if you have not, or do not wish, to purchase one.
This is obviously a vital issue and I feel it is important to have as much factual information as possible while assessing the topic.
Sincerely yours,
James S. Ketchum, MD
Colonel US Army Medical Corps (ret.)
Clinical Asst. Prof. of Psychiatry, UCLA (inactive status)