Poisoning the Battlefield

In chemical warfare, the U.S. lags far behind Moscow

One causes nosebleeds, blurred vision, convulsions and paralysis. Another covers the victim with blisters. Still an other makes the lungs and respiratory sys tem secrete so much fluid that the body drowns in its own juices.

These are some of the grisly and deadly effects caused by the various sprays and gases used as chemical weapons. Partly because of popular revulsion, such poisons have not been used in large scale on battlefields since 36 gases, including chlorine, phosgene and mustard gas, killed 91,000 One causes nosebleeds, blurred vision, convulsions and paralysis. Another covers the victim with blisters. Still another makes the lungs and respiratory system secrete so much fluid that the body drowns in its own juices.

These are some of the grisly and deadly effects caused by the various sprays and gases used as chemical weapons. Partly because of popular revulsion, such poisons have not been used in large scale on battlefields since 36 gases, including chlorine, phosgene and mustard gas, killed 91,000 and injured 1.2 million (many for life) in World War I. Indeed, President Richard Nixon in 1969 renounced all use of biological weapons and first use of chemical arms. But top U.S. generals are becoming increasingly alarmed at the chemical warfare (C.W.) threat from the Soviet Union. There have been reports, which Western intelligence has not been able to confirm, that the Soviets have used poison gas in Afghanistan, and that the Vietnamese and Laotian Communist forces have used U.S.S.R.-supplied gas against Meotribes in Laos. Says General John W. Pauly, commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe: "The Soviets have a considerable C.W. capability, both offensive and defensive. And they are prepared to use it."

Moscow's armed forces now have between 70,000 and 100,000 C.W. specialists, and a chemical-defense company is assigned to every line regiment. Using bombs, artillery shells, mortars, multiple-rocket launchers, air-delivered sprays or even land mines, the Soviets can attack with phosgene, mustard gas, hydrogen cyanide, nerve agents, botulin and a variety of lethal viruses.

U.S. military intelligence experts missiles U.S.S.R.'s warheads, are estimate more that equipped than a with 2,000 third of chemical the tactical Scud B rocket, The for example, can 170-mile-range infect an area of 750 to 1,000 acres with nerve gas by exploding on ground impact or detonating overhead and releasing a deadly drizzle. According to John Erickson, a widely respected expert on Soviet military matters and director of defense studies at the University of Edinburgh, Kremlin battlefield doctrine calls for using chemicals against the West's command posts and airfields. Gases can blanket a wide area and penetrate buildings and fortifications, killing their occupants even though their exact location may be unknown to the attacker. Says Erickson: "A mixture of conventional and chemical attacks by the Red Army in Europe would give them a considerable tactical advantage."

To allow continued fighting on a poisoned battlefield, Moscow's troops are all equipped with protective suits and masks. Tanks and armored personnel carriers are tightly sealed and carry filters to protect the crews against poisoned air and dust. Soviet forces train extensively in C.W. techniques at more than 1,000 ranges, sometimes even with active toxic agents. It is believed, in fact, that accidents during such exercises have been killing about a dozen or so soldiers annually.

In contrast to the impressive U.S.S.R. force, the U.S. so far has only about 2,000 C.W. experts. Concedes a Pentagon official: "We've been slow getting started." But now the nearly defunct Army Chemical Corps has been resuscitated, and special chemical-defense units are being organized as quickly as experts become available. Current plans call for a C.W. company to be assigned to each of the Army's 16 divisions and four independent brigades and regiments; six of these companies are already in the field and five more are to be added this year.

The major U.S. effort is on individual survival. U.S. forces in Europe now have what the Pentagon calls "chemical ensembles"--masks, rubber gloves, boots, and overgarments made up of interwoven fiber layers over a black charcoal lining. This garment traps noxious elements. Troops wearing chemical ensembles can eat, talk and eliminate body wastes without exposure to toxic chemicals, but the outfits are still very cumbersome. Soldiers in them grow hot and uncomfortable. Sighting a weapon, operating the tiny knobs and switches clustered on sophisticated arms, using the radio, even talking mask to mask become major efforts. To a squad or platoon leader, his masked men all suddenly look alike. Commands become hard to understand and it is often difficult for a leader to get his men's attention. In C.W. exercises, in fact, squad leaders have had to throw stones at G.I.s to get them to turn around to see hand and arm signals.

The Army needs up to $1 billion over the next five years for C.W. offense and defense. Some experts argue that the best defense is the threat of chemical retaliation.

They point out that even Hitler was deterred from using his formidable C.W. arsenal because the Allies threatened to respond in kind. Without a credible chemical counterpunch, it becomes more likely that the U.S. would have to resort to tactical nuclear arms as a response to a Soviet chemical attack.

Although the nation's C.W. stockpile has declined only about 10% since Nixon's action of a decade ago, many of the arsenal's delivery systems are aging and deteriorating. Next year's proposed defense budget earmarks only $2 million for researching a chemical warhead for a multiple rocket launcher and $4.2 million for maintaining the current U.S. stock of war chemicals. Among them are 888 Weteye gravity bombs containing a nerve agent; last week the Pentagon announced that it will continue storing the weapons at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal near Denver despite protests from residents of the area who fear potentially lethal leaks. The Army has been seeking funds for a $170 million plant to manufacture artillery shells containing two chemicals that are harmless when separate but become hazardous when mixed in a shell or bomb after it is fired or released. This so-called binary method would make it safe to store the chemicals even near population centers. So far, the White House has vetoed the Army request for the plant.

But with Moscow's C.W. threat mounting, the Administration will probably have to start doing more. Advises Edinburgh's Erickson: "Not only must the West develop an offensive capability," but the Kremlin must be convinced that the West "knows how to use these weapons and is well prepared operationally to fire them."

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