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Germ and gas warfare, circa 1968

A look back at a landmark "60 Minutes" report: Mike Wallace's two-part investigation into the research and development of chemical and biological warfare by the United States.

The reporting was groundbreaking, as Wallace and his producer William S. Brown became the first-ever journalists permitted to "film" at secret Defense Department installations across the country.

Forty-three years later, this report remains an eye-opener. To see the original 1968 press release from CBS News regarding this story, click here.


One breath means instant death

Mike Wallace demonstrates the protective gas masks and clothing developed for U.S. soldiers in 1968.


VX and GB: the advantages of chemical weapons

Pound for pound, these weapons are far more deadly than conventional bullets and bombs.


"That is all"

A simulated test of nerve gas.


"Humane weapons"

Not all chemical weapons are deadly. Check out the use of "incapacitating agents" on animals and humans.


Aerobiology: perfecting biological weapons

Could two men with a motorboat take out an entire U.S. military air base? Yes.


"Public health in reverse"

Turning plague, anthrax and small pox into a battlefield advantage.


A poor man's weapon?

Chemical and biological weapons are much cheaper to produce than nuclear weapons.


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