BIOTERRORISM: Our heads in the sand...

From: Robert J. Bradbury (bradbury@aeiveos.com)
Date: Mon Oct 15 2001 - 13:50:53 MDT


I'm in the middle of a paper on what the gradual evolution
of bioterrorism might look like (and scaring myself silly in the
process). Unfortunately it isn't going to be a public paper.

You know the "crop duster" idea? It turns out that was developed
by our own theorists as a good way to attack Washington with
Anthrax spores and published in an Office of Technology Assessment
report in 1994. [Stupid, stupid, stupid...]

A good source is a collection of articles from the CDC:

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol5no4/contents.htm

Particularly the Tucker, Davis and Olson articles.

Samantha, I'd like to particularly suggest that you read them.

Lets assume the Iraqi's still have 1/10th of the 84,250 liters
of anthrax spores they were supposed to have produced. Lets
assume that 100 kg (@ 1kg/l) can kill the low end of the 130,000
to 3 million people estimated in the OTA assement. That quantity
of spores would kill more than 10 million people if they could
find a way to deliver it effectively.

Hussein has already demonstrated a willingness to use such
weapons. The only thing stopping him is the knowledge that
we wouldn't hesitate to erase him from the planet if he did.

Heed these words:

> "Too many times in the past we have failed to anticipate future
> developments; refused to think the unthinkable and expect the
> unexpected. Too many times we have been out maneuvered by those who
> take the time to think and plan and do not simply rely on reacting
> to events. We must learn to think like our potential adversaries
> if we are to avoid conflict or blunt an attack, because only superior
> thinking and planning (not just better technology) will enable us to
> survive biological warfare."

  - Christopher J. Davis, Johns Hopkins, 1999(!)

Robert



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