Chemical Warfare Secrets Almost Forgotten
Opinions Continued
© 2006/2007
J.S. Ketchum
J.S. Ketchum
Documenting a Lost Decade of Clinical Research
Dear. Dr. Ketchum:
I recently finished your book about your experience at Edgewood Arsenal and beyond. I want to thank you for personalizing the book especially. I poked around the inernet and found some articles about BZ, most of which were misconstrued and some that you even commented on in an effort to clear things up. Your book itself is priceless in that it contains so much candid information that I was completely unaware of. The book was immensely personal and I feel as tho I know you now, albeit in a strange way.
I dont want to write a book report or lavish you with a bunch of trite comments so I will just mention some things I found particularly interesting. I thought the verbatim chart notes of the BZ volunteer to be the most enlightening part regarding understanding the effects of the drug. Maybe its because I work in a hospital... who knows. I laughed out loud several times reading them even after reading that you started hiring nurses because the techs were laughing at a lot of volunteers.
I also liked reading the story about 'project dork' and the reason for its inception. Most of all I appreciated the openness you seemed to provide to the military and government in general. Despite the efforts of both to keep information about most projects secret as well as the incessant attitude of the press to align a story with its beliefs. I found your comment about newspapers with a left/right slant leaving out positive/damning aspects of your work to be particularly altruistic. I consider myself fairly liberal yet I read a lot of liberal/conservative literature and see the same tendencies. I also work with radiation and find reports about it so utterly misinformed and alarmist that I feel a particular connection to your plight.
I thought your beliefs about the morality of your work and the need for the same kind of research to be excellent additions even tho I disagree with some of your views. Militaristic research of chemicals and in general seems to be a double edge sword in that respect. I feel its always good to thoroughly research anything and everything but at the same time human beings are fairly barbaric by nature and uncolored research can and will be misused. I also fell that lifting the ban on chemical weapons, even providing caveats to current policy, opens the door to more widespread misuse. If the current administration is any example most people with extra elbow room tend to create more by swinging their elbows harder.
The idea that chemical weapons and nerve agents are not "WMD" was a wonderful point and one I'm glad you raised. Radiological "dirty" bombs are also considered weapons of mass destruction despite the fact that they'd terrorize the hell out of people it would be unlikely to kill many, if any, people. Logic is often usurped in the face of national security and instead of heeding Roosevelt, fear is now policy and terrorism is allowed to terrorize people despite the lack of actual attacks.
Anyway, the book was excellent and trippy thanks for writing it. I wish more people in your position had a similar attitude towards openness.
Sincerely,
Colin Anderson
I recently finished your book about your experience at Edgewood Arsenal and beyond. I want to thank you for personalizing the book especially. I poked around the inernet and found some articles about BZ, most of which were misconstrued and some that you even commented on in an effort to clear things up. Your book itself is priceless in that it contains so much candid information that I was completely unaware of. The book was immensely personal and I feel as tho I know you now, albeit in a strange way.
I dont want to write a book report or lavish you with a bunch of trite comments so I will just mention some things I found particularly interesting. I thought the verbatim chart notes of the BZ volunteer to be the most enlightening part regarding understanding the effects of the drug. Maybe its because I work in a hospital... who knows. I laughed out loud several times reading them even after reading that you started hiring nurses because the techs were laughing at a lot of volunteers.
I also liked reading the story about 'project dork' and the reason for its inception. Most of all I appreciated the openness you seemed to provide to the military and government in general. Despite the efforts of both to keep information about most projects secret as well as the incessant attitude of the press to align a story with its beliefs. I found your comment about newspapers with a left/right slant leaving out positive/damning aspects of your work to be particularly altruistic. I consider myself fairly liberal yet I read a lot of liberal/conservative literature and see the same tendencies. I also work with radiation and find reports about it so utterly misinformed and alarmist that I feel a particular connection to your plight.
I thought your beliefs about the morality of your work and the need for the same kind of research to be excellent additions even tho I disagree with some of your views. Militaristic research of chemicals and in general seems to be a double edge sword in that respect. I feel its always good to thoroughly research anything and everything but at the same time human beings are fairly barbaric by nature and uncolored research can and will be misused. I also fell that lifting the ban on chemical weapons, even providing caveats to current policy, opens the door to more widespread misuse. If the current administration is any example most people with extra elbow room tend to create more by swinging their elbows harder.
The idea that chemical weapons and nerve agents are not "WMD" was a wonderful point and one I'm glad you raised. Radiological "dirty" bombs are also considered weapons of mass destruction despite the fact that they'd terrorize the hell out of people it would be unlikely to kill many, if any, people. Logic is often usurped in the face of national security and instead of heeding Roosevelt, fear is now policy and terrorism is allowed to terrorize people despite the lack of actual attacks.
Anyway, the book was excellent and trippy thanks for writing it. I wish more people in your position had a similar attitude towards openness.
Sincerely,
Colin Anderson
