When terrorists and insurgents in Iraq started using chlorine as a weapon, they probably didn’t anticipate the full consequences of their actions. Unfortunately, neither did we.

Our response to the attacks was to make it difficult to import chlorine, and considering that the bad guys weren’t just using chlorine bombs but weaponizing friendly chlorine transport trucks, I can kind of understand where we were coming from. Denying the insurgents use of the gas is expedient and much easier than the alternative of guarding every shipment of chlorine 24/7.

The problem is that chlorine is an essential part of urban infrastructure, used to clean water and make it drinkable. In a country that already has problems with infrastructure due to our invasion, the continued insurgency, and general economic decline, a lack of cleanliness is the last thing they need.

Case in point: cholera has broken out nationwide. The BBC puts current dead at 12, with one in Baghdad. Once something like this hits a city, it’ll take some doing to make sure it doesn’t hit critical mass and become an epidemic

Eric Umansky has a lot more information than even the BBC report at this point. He’s also got the money quote, the “so what” for military folks trying to learn a lesson from the ups and downs of our security campaign in Iraq.

In other words, the biggest damage from chlorine bombs–as with so many terrorist attacks–has come from overreaction to it. Fear operates as a “force multiplier” for terrorists and in this case has helped them cut off Iraq’s clean water.

That’s right, Mr. Umansky. Even though some people (justly, in certain circumstances) criticize our “War on Abstract Nouns,” the phrase “War on Terror” is helpful when we consider the circumstances. We are fighting people who take as the core of their tactics creating fear in the hearts of their opponents. We must be careful we do not assist them by falling prey to it.

Via Schneier.

If you’re interested in logistics and the effect it can have on a war or our emergency preparations, check out Jonathan Soroko’s Popular Logistics.

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