NATIVE AMERICANS: WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION
http://thewinds.arcsnet.net/arc_features/newworld/weapons_of_destruction1.html

Part I - A Pattern for the New Order

"If used in numbers, atomic bombs not only can nullify any nation's military
effort, but can demolish its social and economic structure and prevent their
re-establishment for long periods of time. With such weapons, especially if
employed in conjunction with other weapons of mass destruction such as
pathogenic bacteria, it is quite possible to depopulate vast areas of the
earth's surface, leaving only vestigial remnants of man's material works."
Report of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Operations Crossroads, June 30, 1947 (17).
As we explore the issue of weapons of mass destruction in conjunction with the
history of the Native Americans, the picture that will be drawn is that this
statement to the Joint Chiefs of Staff is not a passing statement of
recognition, but a declaration of what the true reality is for all secretive and
deadly munitions.

As we examine past history comparing it with the present, it will show its
demonic head desiring to exterminate not just the "vestigial remnant[s]" of
man's works, but, man himself. This war is not limited to an enemy, an enemy's
weapons or capabilities, but against all life forms. Often the true intent is
hidden under the need to fight off a supposed enemy, as in the cold war era or
the need to protect the country against a "possible" invasion of like kind such
as the Iraqi pretense. The need to protect against an invasion from without is,
in reality, a facade to draw the gaze from the enemy within.

The most secret weapons of mass destruction are combined with known WMD to
complete the extermination. As one rock and roll group called MegaDeath
advertised their tour as "Count Down to Extinction", even so, those who are in
the power to wield these weapons seem hell-bent on total annihilation.

It seems that man can never learn peace from his bloody past. If man has learned
anything at all from his past, it is how to wage massive destruction with
lightning speed on a scale that is staggering to the imagination. This
bloodthirsty dragon of unequaled carnage hides under the gentle lamblike mask of
peace and brotherhood.

A Los Angeles Times article dated Friday, December 26, 1997 says "the United
States is poorly prepared to defend its armed forces." The release goes further
to lament that, "officials acknowledge that they are taking only the first steps
to develop the high-technology gear, medicine and organization needed to respond
to germ arsenals believed held by 16 nations and, perhaps, terrorist groups as
well. One top official who refused to be identified said, 'We have a long way to
go.'" Why should such a powerful nation as the U.S. be so fearful of an attack
from WMD munitions? Can we hear in present-day fears a growing realization that
past injustices are lining up at the door for an accounting?

How has WMD warfare been used in the past? What really are our capabilities? Is
the current situation realistic or is it a highly manufactured scare tactic
designed to hide another more insidious threat? Should we all rush to government
agencies like lemmings who rush to the cliff, rolling up our fearful patriotic
sleeves as we go, demanding anthrax inoculations? Or should we inquire into past
"inoculations" to see what they have done to those who took them? What are the
real purposes behind the manufacture and stockpiling of WMD? Who is the biggest
conspirator in the use and abuse of WMD? Saddam? Russia, or should we look
within our own locked files? A nightmarish journey down a road of unequaled
terror begins as we examine the well-worn freeway to extinction by weapons of
mass destruction.

WHAT ARE WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION?

In regards to defining weapons of mass destruction, the term, as used today, may
be considered relevant to the times. "Mass" according to the dictionary is, "a
great amount or number, the majority." If there are only 100 members of a group
and 99 are murdered, then 99% of the population was massacred. It may not be a
Hiroshima type destruction, but it is a mass destruction. Today's nuclear bomb
is a far greater weapon of mass destruction in comparison to the first atomic
bomb. If we were to go backwards in time, we would find that "little boy"
dropped on Hiroshima was the greatest weapon of mass destruction ever concocted
in comparison to all previous technology. A submachine gun may be termed a
weapon of mass destruction in comparison to a single shot rifle not only in
effectiveness, but in terms of capability to kill many more people. A repeating
rifle with a long range scope could be termed a weapon of mass destruction in
comparison to a knife. What are known as WMD today may become obsolete if time
should march on and new weapons are manufactured.

Another way of seeing weapons of mass destruction correctly would come from
comparing one nation's technology with another. When one nation has only a
cavalry on horses and another has tanks, those with the tanks would possess the
weapons of mass destruction in comparison, even though they may exist
contemporaneously. The tribe with bows and arrows faces a weapon of mass
destruction when their rival has a Hotchkiss gun or a howitzer. The massive
destruction may not come from a single application weapon, but, if the end
result is a mass killing, could not the application apply? With CBW, a single
weapon such as anthrax is, in reality, many thousands of germs disseminated over
a large area.

While it may not be thought of as chemical biological warfare from a modern
perspective, CBW has been around a long time when current definitions are
applied. In past wars, men have poisoned wells, burned crops and catapulted
rotting dead bodies infected with disease over the walls of their enemies.
Modern warfare has become increasingly sophisticated in these applications. We
may not catapult a dead body over a wall, but any chemical or biological agent
introduced into the sovereign nation of another producing injury or death will
qualify. If we examine past U.S. history and compare it to the current day
applications of CBW, we can draw some striking similarities and parallels in the
present use of WMD. This may also show us where prevalent U.S. practices will
lead in the future and the purpose for its steady production despite popular
protest.

Most WMD are very secretive. The greater the destructive force, the greater the
need for secrecy. During the first atomic bomb construction it was referred to
as simply the "gadget." What is revealed about current WMD proves that far
greater weapons exist, for the secrets about "little boy" were not exposed until
after it was used openly. Most WMD hide under names that are the exact opposite
of what they really are. Places where weapons are manufactured hide under names
belying the true operations within. "Little boy" was not "little" in terms of
destruction.

The CIA during the cold war hid torture cells in "hospitals" and placed anthrax
in asthma spray bottles. These topics will be explored in future articles, but
the point to be understood is that in war the label does not always describe the
contents. The name does not describe the article. The name of an institution
does not reveal the nature of the activities carried on within its walls. With
these thoughts in mind we now journey into the past and examine America's
treatment of its first citizens, the Native Americans.

The Discovery of America Brings Annihilation

When Christopher Columbus landed on Hispaniola, the estimates for the number of
Native Americans were astronomical in comparison to what the number is today.
Estimates place 800 separate nations, with one-hundred fifty language families
and 1,500 to 2,000 dialects. Population studies show between seventy-five to
one-hundred forty-five million inhabitants in North and South America. By 1890,
the number in North America had been reduced to 250,000. Total tribes have been
annihilated. (18). While ecologists lament the extinction of the dodo bird and
the senseless slaughter of whales, what is this in comparison to the total
eradication of a race of men created in the image of God?

Sizing up the weapons of the natives Columbus noted, "The people of this island
and of all the other islands which I have found and seen . . . have no iron or
steel weapons, nor are they capable of using them, although they are well-built
people of handsome stature, because they are wondrous timid." Going on to
describe the natives he says, "They are so artless and free with all they
possess, that no one would believe it without having seen it. Of anything they
have, if you ask them for it, they never say no; rather they invite the person
to share it, and show as much love as if they were giving their hearts; and
whether the thing be of value or small price, at once they are content with
whatever little thing of whatever kind may be given them." (18). With no weapons
to fight ironclad soldiers who came brandishing swords and guns led by trained
man-eating dogs, the Spanish met little resistance from these docile naked
people. (1)

When the Spaniards came to North America, Europe had already been ravaged with
smallpox, measles, bubonic plague, diphtheria, influenza, yellow fever, typhoid,
syphilis, tuberculosis and a host of other plagues. But the Americas had been
isolated from these great ravages. When the sailing ships appeared on the
horizon, they came not only to plunder but to spread their diseases as well.
While it is not documentable that the Spanish deliberately spread diseases, it
is well documented that they were merciless with the natives. Whole nations were
destroyed by the invaders and their European plagues. Estimates nearing a 98%
death rate from diseases alone are not uncommon. One island group that
demonstrates the horrendous extent of the slaying was the Dominican Republic and
Haitian islands named Hispaniola by Columbus.

Hispaniola had an estimated original population nearing 8,000,000 by some
sources. From 1492 to 1496 the population had fallen to four or five million. By
1508 it was down to less than 100,000 and by 1518 the populace stood around
23,000. By 1535 "for all practical purposes the native population was extinct."
(Bartolome de las Casas-1). The terrible inroads of disease combined with the
sword, slavery, starvation and suicide brought on by the former evils had
reduced a once prolific people in forty-three years to extinction. These same
statistics can be applied to the North American natives with blood-chilling
accuracy. (18).

With the annihilation of Hispaniola natives, new sources of slaves were needed
for gold mining, plantation harvesting and deportation to Europe for display.
The same savage merciless butchery was carried forward against the natives of
America under the relentless slaughter of Portuguese and Spanish armies headed
by deSoto, Cortez, Pedro de Quejo, Gordillo and others. When the Spaniard
invaders came to North America, well-regarded specialists place the population
at 18 million. Since the continent was so prolific in peoples, animals and
natural resources, the conquerors thought there was no end from which to draw.

In Florida the Timucuan people were 90% dead by 1607 and by 1617 they were cut
in half again by the invaders' germs and weapons. This mind-boggling death rate
reduced 720,000 natives to 36,000. (18). The weapons used by the Spanish were
very effective. By 1607, with the first small colony of 104 that settled at
Jamestown, the continent was already reeling under a massive invasion of
diseases and violence that had reduced the population to near extinction in
comparison to what it was. Some of the closest smaller tribes were already
extinct. They were wiped out before anyone could record their existence.

Later, Spanish explorers were amazed at the difference in the native population
from what was recorded by earlier explorers. Where once before were voluminous
amounts of people, now revealed near deserted villages. Other whole villages
were found empty. The war had begun in deadly earnest.

Weapons of Mass Destruction: America's Legacy

"The proper response of the British against this 'viperous brood . . . of pagan
infidels should be the same as that meted out by the Spanish: extermination."
Edward Waterhouse (18).

Three important points to remember for effective biological munitions are:
first, the introduction of chronic illnesses for which there is no known cure.
The second, cloak the toxin under a guise so the "enemy" takes it unawares until
it is too late. Finally, combine weapons so that what one weapon fails to
accomplish, the subsequent weapons will finish. The British had seen the
effectiveness of diseases among the natives and employed a disguise.

An English general named Jeffery Amherst understood this when, in April 1763, he
offered a reward for Pontiac who had banded the tribes together against the
British invasion. Amherst states, "Could it not be contrived to send a smallpox
among those disaffected tribes of Indians? We must on this occasion use every
stratagem in our power to reduce them. You will do well to try to inoculate the
Indians by means of blankets to try and extirpate this execrable race." The
tribes "inoculated" in this campaign were the Shawnee, Odawa and the Onondaga
tribes. One native remarked afterwards, "terrible sickness among us, nothing but
dead bodies among us." (4).

Speaking of the smallpox plague among the natives, Laurie Garret in her book,
The Coming Plague, adds in a footnote that "smallpox may have been the most
useful weapon of biological warfare in world history." When one views the amount
of desolation from this one disease in North America alone, it is not hard to
come to the same conclusion.

In 1738 an English trader named James Adair charges that "the Cherake (sic)
received a most depopulating shock by the small pox, which reduced them almost
one-half, in about a year's time: it was conveyed into Charles-town by the
Guinea-men, and soon after among them, by the infected goods." The Guinea men
referred to could have been the traders. After this endemic, trade with the
Cherokee ceased for about a year-and-a-half. When trade began again, the
remainder of the tribe suffered major psychosis when they saw for the first time
the effects of the smallpox in mirrors sent as trade goods. The trauma was so
great that it is reported many committed suicide.

Diseases were not fast enough to accomplish the dreaded annihilation, so they
combined this biological warfare with the sword, guns and hunting dogs as the
Spanish did to exterminate the "vermin." That the mercilessness of the British
was not forgotten by invading settlers can be seen on the "trail of tears." On
the trail of tears, which was nearly 300 miles in length, the Cherokee Indians
were deliberately marched past areas known to have outbreaks of cholera and
other epidemic diseases. To add to their debilitated state from diseases, the
freezing weather, and the forced death march, they were fed spoiled flour and
rancid meat. Nearly 8,000 died on this march out of 17,000. (19).

Another logical step in biological warfare is the deliberate withholding of
treatments for diseases. One case among the Native Americans is the Apaches and
their fight with tuberculosis. "Tuberculosis was allowed to affect the Apaches,
e.g., the government could have returned the people to the southwest, which at
the time was a popular remedy for TB. Instead, the government refused to allow
the sick and dying Apaches to come home. So...not overtly, but certainly
covertly, the government exercised revenge on the Apaches. And, if they could do
that to one tribe, they could do it to all who resisted the encroachment." (21).
In many cases there may have been no deliberate attempt at withholding a cure,
but the end result was welcomed. We will see in future articles that this area
of CBW is just as important as finding the right biological toxic agent that has
no cure.




Written 03/19/98

Continued: Manifest Destiny - Part II
http://thewinds.arcsnet.net/arc_features/newworld/weapons_of_destruction2.html
Educating the Indians - Part III
http://thewinds.arcsnet.net/arc_features/newworld/weapons_of_destruction3.html
Sand Creek Massacre, Religion Outlawed - Part IV
http://thewinds.arcsnet.net/arc_features/newworld/weapons_of_destruction4.html
Ghost Dance and Wounded Knee - Part V
http://thewinds.arcsnet.net/arc_features/newworld/weapons_of_destruction5.html

From:
World Internet Distributary Source
http://thewinds.arcsnet.net/index.html

NATIVE AMERICANS
WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION
Part I - A Pattern for the New Order
http://thewinds.arcsnet.net/arc_features/newworld/weapons_of_destruction1.html

NATIVE AMERICANS
WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION
Part II The Weapons of Politics and Treaties
http://thewinds.arcsnet.net/arc_features/newworld/weapons_of_destruction2.html

NATIVE AMERICANS
WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION
PART III The Weapon of Education
http://thewinds.arcsnet.net/arc_features/newworld/weapons_of_destruction3.html

NATIVE AMERICANS
WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION
PART IV The Media Weapon
http://thewinds.arcsnet.net/arc_features/newworld/weapons_of_destruction4.html

NATIVE AMERICANS
WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION
PART V The Last Battle: Wounded Knee
http://thewinds.arcsnet.net/arc_features/newworld/weapons_of_destruction5.html