Alan,

To your story of smallpox infested blankets, I was watching a special on the History Channel tonite about what the USA has learned in past wars to combat the present threats of terrorism.

On the subject of bio-terrorism, one of the guests (I do not know his source) said that in early America, the British armies introduced smallpox infested blankets into native indian tribes, spreading the disease to gain control of desired lands.

It is not beyond reason to suspect that this tactic may have been used in later wars.