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Articles by Philipp C. Bleek
Nuclear apocalypse now? Reflections on the movie “House of Dynamite”
3 November 2025, 1457 EST I had high hopes for director Kathryn Bigelow’s House of Dynamite, a new Netflix movie about U.S. nuclear command and control. There’s so much potential for cinema to unpack the dilemmas and tragedies of living under a nuclear sword of Damocles, and my initial reaction was disappointment at the ways this fails to be that movie. But for all its shortcomings, the film also serves as a sobering reminder of the profound peril nuclear weapons entail.
Why COVID probably hasn’t helped bioterrorists, despite fears
The cult Aum Shinrikyo is infamous for its deadly chemical weapons attacks on metropolitan Tokyo in the 1990s. Less well known is the ambitious biological weapons program that preceded the group’s chemical exploits. Aum tried to weaponize the anthrax bacterium, create a bacterial toxin, and develop ways to disseminate its wares. Despite the group’s enormous resources and expertise, however, its bioweapons appear to have caused no casualties at all.
Going Viral: Implications of COVID-19 for Bioterrorism – Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract: COVID-19 has drawn greater attention to the prospect of biological weapons use. But when it comes to bioterrorism, the pandemic probably has not moved the needle much. Although COVID-19 might encourage apocalyptic cults, some radical environmentalists, some extreme right-wing groups, and some Islamist extremist groups toward biological weapons, most other terrorist groups are more likely to be discouraged.
May 2022 – Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
From the Editor With more than a million Americans dead from COVID-19 and the pandemic associated directly or indirectly with around 15 million deaths globally by the end of 2021 according to World Health Organization estimates, it is essential to reassess the global biological threat landscape, including the possibility that bioterrorists or other bad actors might seek to exploit advances in biotechnology to engineer a future pandemic.
A Plague of Locusts? A Preliminary Assessment of the Threat of Multi-Drone Terrorism
ABSTRACT Emerging technologies provide new opportunities for terrorist organizations. Future terrorists may use multiple drones—either en masse or coordinated with each other in cruder or more sophisticated ways—to cause harm, potentially at scale. This study explores the topic via theoretical exploration and threat assessment. The first half explores relevant literatures on terrorist innovation; suicide bombing; airpower; and chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) terrorism.
Microfluidics Should Scare You
Imagine several hazmat suit–clad figures in a room monitoring what appear to be stacks of computer servers connected by a web of tubing. A colorless liquid begins to flow out of the final tube and into a storage container. One individual in the room turns and nods to the observation window, confirming the successful resumption of Syria's chemical weapons program. Or, picture elsewhere a cohort of U.S. Marines, who just received artillery fire near a village.
Drones of Mass Destruction: Drone Swarms and the Future of Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Weapons
Imagine swarms of undersea, surface, and aerial drones hunting submarines hidden in the vastness of the ocean. Or imagine hundreds of airborne drones darting through New York City, seeking out targets and dosing them with nerve agent. These imaginary scenarios are not yet reality, but they are quickly becoming so. Drone swarm technology could have a significant impact on every area of military competition, from enhancing supply chains to delivering nuclear bombs.
Trump: “Biggest Problem, To Me, In the World, Is Nuclear, And Proliferation” - Diplomatic Courier
The thought of President Donald Trump’s fingers on the proverbial nuclear button is chilling to many national security professionals. In addition to a strikingly different temperament than the former occupant of the Oval Office, the Trump administration will bring a mix of continuity and change, seasoned with considerable uncertainty, to various nuclear weapons-related policies.
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