Lessons Learned: Tokyo Sarin Gas Attack | Tokyo
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On March 20, 1995, Aum Shinrikyo, a religious cult based in Japan, used chemical weapons in a terrorist attack on Tokyo's subway system. During the morning rush hour, five cult members carried bags of liquid sarin into Tokyo's subway and pierced the bags with the tips of their umbrellas, allowing the deadly nerve agent to evaporate and spread. The attack killed twelve people and injured thousands more. James M. Lindsay, CFR's senior vice president and director of studies, argues that the 1995 sarin gas attack serves as a reminder that technology now "makes it possible for groups and individuals to carry out the kinds of attacks that once only government could undertake." Concerns over the spread of such technology, he says, lie at the heart of the current debate surrounding the manipulation of the H5N1 bird flu virus in laboratories. Such debates will continue to "grow more heated," he predicts, "as technological advances make it possible to do more and more with less and less training." This video is part of Lessons Learned, a series dedicated to exploring historical events and examining their meaning in the context of foreign relations today: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF2F38E5941910270 To learn more about Aum Shinrikyo, read this backgrounder: http://www.cfr.org/japan/aum-shinrikyo/p9238 For more analysis from CFR's James M. Lindsay, visit The Water's Edge blog: http://blogs.cfr.org/lindsay/ http://www.cfr.org/japan/lessons-learned-tokyo-sarin-gas-attack/p27685
Comments
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Why doesn't this guy ever blink?
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It's of my opinion, that they already HAVE got their hands on them......it's just a matter of time till they get to use them?
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the chemists which keeps
inventing these new weapons
are engineering without faith -
Homeland brought me here
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Do some of these terrorist groups really have the skill and knowledge to produce biological weapons of mass destruction?
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Holy shit. This video is informative I'm glad people can learn not to do this. Go team friend.
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Sarin is very deadly, whole villages and cities had to be evacuated in Syria and ISIS already has their hands on it. Chemical terrorism is indeed the most potent and lethal act of violence.
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I'm an EMT student and the one thing that was drilled into our heads in regards to this incident was that the biggest failures in the response to this attack was the lack of Protective Equipment and a proper treatment zone away from the source of the attack. As a result, many medical workers were also contaminated and suffered greatly.
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according the document police found, their goal was to spread Sarin all over Japan, Japan into
chaos, then they 'll found new government , Japan become the kingdom of AUM , Asahara will be the lord. -
This is crazy how I have never heard of this, Why isn't this more widely known?
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yo seriouslyy stfu america u guys r real terrorist y not talk bout what u guys do to hiroshima and nagasaki where people suffers a cancer coz of u guys,
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this really happened and it was scary and all... BUT THIS GUY DIDNT BLINK AT ALL
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Sarin is very easy to make given it's lethality and how the ingredients are so easily bought off the internet. For a chemical as lethal as this you only need some money , a person with a masters in chemistry and a school science lab!
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19 years now.since on that fateful Tuesday morning on 3/20/95, just 2 months after the Kobe Earthquake on that fateful Tuesday morning on 1/17/95.
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Today is the 19 year anniversary. I hope this never happens again.
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Such bias.
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Tell that to the families of the dead people.
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well, his father used to own a company that has hundreds of thousands of employees, just to compare Microsoft has around 100 thousands employee. It is a construction company called Bin Laden Group
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how rich was Bin Laden?
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"...for people with basic skills to accomplish things that once required .. teams of highly trained, skilled scientists." Basic skills? They had a hospital, two chemical companies, some of the best chemists and biologists, other top scientists, investment firms, a sheep ranch in Australia for animal testing, medical team in Zaire to acquire Ebola... "that once only a government could undertake"? sarin was developed by a four men team at IG Farben. Not exactly the Manhattan project..