Biological Weapons Program
It is reported that Egypt's biological warfare efforts may include work on plague, botulism toxin and the encephalitis virus. Other research is said to include anthrax, Rift Valley fever, and mycotoxicosis. The extent of weaponization of any of these agents is unknown, but the extensive domestic Egypt armaments industry is probably capable of devising a variety of suitable delivery systems.
In 1970, the president of Egypt Anwar al-Sadat was reported to have stated that that “Egypt has biological weapons stored in refrigerators and could use them against Israel’s crowded
population.” Al-Sadat’s declaration was apparently intended to warn Israel against a nuclear strike, and Israel did in fact contemplate the use of nuclear weapons in the darkest moments of the Yom Kippur War in 1973.
Sources and Resources
- The Evolution of Chemical and Biological Weapons in Egypt Dany Shoham, Ariel Center for Policy Research -- Egypt accomplished a fairly broad CBW program, operating two large dual-use factories, bordering each other and located near Cairo, as well as a variety of scattered dual-use supporting facilities.
- Egypt: Egypt War Preparations Against IDF Viewed ; FBIS-NES-98-320 ; 11/17/98 [Tel Aviv Hatzofe in Hebrew 25 Sep 98]
http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/egypt/bw/
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