Biological Terrorism: Our City Streets as the New Battlefield

The first major bioterror event in the United States--the anthrax attacks in October 2001--was a clarion call for scientists who work with "hot" agents to find ways of protecting civilian populations against biological weapons. In The Demon in the Freezer, his first nonfiction book since The Hot Zone, a #1 New York Times bestseller, Richard Preston takes us into the heart of Usamriid, the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick, Maryland, once the headquarters of the U.S. biological weapons program and now the epicenter of national biodefense.

“Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Soviet Union and the United Kingdom were among many countries that investigated how to wage biological war.” (pg. 38) Some of these countries have biological weapons programs and even some biological weapons have been used in the past. A Russian program “known to the Soviets as “the Concern Bioreparat”, supposedly a series of laboratories and plants that manufactured vaccines and other medicinal products, was in fact a vast network of secret cities, production plants of Moscow’s germ effort. Bioreparat studied and perfected germs as weapons. President Richard Nixon’s administration became the “world’s leading advocate for a treaty banning germ warfare. Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention- prohibited the possession of deadly biological agents except for research…for vaccines, detection and protective gear. It was the world’s first treaty to ban an entire class of weapons.” (pg. 63) April 1979, an explosion at a secret military base near Soviet city of Sverdlovsk, sent a cloud of Bacillus anthracis fanning over a nearby village, leaving thousands dead. Although the Soviets, had signed the treaty, they denied allegations that this was “nothing more nefarious than tainted meat.” (pg. 77) During the Gulf War, for example, biological weapons developed by Iraq posed a threat and they might, if fact still pose a threat. While US went in search of nuclear

“Bioterrorism remains a major threat for the United States despite more than $65 billion spent on protecting the country from myriad dangers, the Bipartisan WMD Terrorism Research Center said in its latest report Wednesday. The center's Bio-Response Report Card evaluated U.S. preparedness for countering threats from bioterrorism and found the country remains vulnerable to multiple threats and "largely unprepared for a large-scale bioterrorist attack."”(UPI.com, 2011). There have been over a dozen leading U.S. bio-defense experts that have taken part in figuring out where we are exactly as a county and what the effects of a terroristic attack

Chapter thirteen of the textbook, Biosecurity and Bioterrorism Containing and Preventing Biological Threats, by Jeffrey R. Ryan, examines a wide range of techniques, set up, to help the United States, or U.S., in becoming prepared for a potential biological terrorist attack. A portion of the techniques mentioned throughout chapter thirteen were early warning detection systems. These systems are known as the Autonomous Detection system, and the Biohazard Detection System (Ryan, 327-329). Although both these detection systems have their benefits, the one that has conveyed more consideration over the years is the Biohazard Detection

These biological agents could be viruses, toxins, bacteria, etc. Agents could be used in war or terrorist attacks. Also, they could be modified to cause extreme diseases and disorders, according to The Center for Disease Control and Prevention. It makes bioterrorism even more tempting to use as it is easy and inexpensive to produce, disseminate and can cause a more widespread panic than other acts of terrorism (1).

With the events that happened on September 11, 2001, the American people and all government leadership realized that the U.S. was fight a whole new other type of war. The U.S. has dealt with foreign terrorist networks abroad and the 1993 World Trade Center bombings. With the tragic event of 9/11, it became something of a nightmare because no American in history had the knowledge to deal with this kind of attack. Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) wants nothing more than to destroy America and the threat of another attack is imminent but, when? Every year these FTO’s will evolve and want to use chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons (CBRN).

A governmental concern is that a bioterrorist attack will trigger panic amongst the population. Panic refers to a group response where intense fear causes people to be concerned with only their survival. While actual panic is rare, there are certain factors that could cause panic in the event of a bioterrorist attack, including limited medical resources where “first come, first serve” applies, a perception that there is poor

In the article Brill does an exceptional job of starting off analyzing the then and now of security of the country. Highlighting the extensive efforts of the country to effectively respond to the attack of 9/11. Emphasizing the billions of dollars that the government has poured into new technology and agencies that can better prepare for biological terrorist attacks. Brill captured the attention of many readers when expressing that terrorism cannot be stopped because it's constantly evolving. He feels that the government should come up with rational ideas that can deal with the ever changing terrorism threat instead of creating policies off of current headlines that dominates the day.

Welcome to week 4! This week we are discussing what consequences face the Nation if our chosen threat isn’t adequately addressed and whether we believe that it is being addressed adequately now. Of the six security challenges that are mentioned in the 2014 Quadrennial Homeland Security Review, I have chosen to discuss biological threats. Biological terrorism is a scary prospect that should be a growing concern for the country. The reason for this is the ease at which a bio attack can be put into action. Depending on the level of intricacy of the attack, the effects could be isolated to one area or become a pandemic that spreads across the United States. Bioterrorism comes in many forms but as a general explanation biological

One of the world’s most dreaded plagues for centuries, smallpox is now eradicated. Vaccination programs were pushed worldwide by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the disease was eliminated from the world. This push resulted in the last naturally occurring case in the world being almost 40 years ago. Once eradicated the once routine or mandatory vaccinations were stopped for the general public and it was deemed no longer necessary to prevent the disease. Although currently eradicated worldwide, two medical laboratory stockpiles still remain in Russia and the United States. With these stockpiles in existence the possibility of bio terrorism emerges and fear of these stockpiles getting into the wrong hands and being weaponized for

The fear of a Chemical or Biological attack has been a concern to many governments. These attacks, either by state agencies or individuals, have caused loss of life and the United States has not been spared in this forms of attacks.

Project Bioshield will protect the citizens of the United States of America safe from biological threats and warfare. Biological warfare is an act of war by using infectious toxins to wipe out or immobilize humans and animals. An example some these infectious toxins include viruses, diseases, fungi, and bacteria. “Project Bioshield is an attempt to create useful medicines to protect the people of the United States of America from biological and nuclear weapons.” (Progress in the War on Terror)

America’s paranoia is misplaced. Since the onset of the Cold War, Americans have feared and prepared for a nuclear attack. However, less attention has been paid to relatively more feasible threats: biological and chemical weapons. It is without a doubt nuclear weapons, if ever used could inflict an unparalleled level of damage. However, the likelihood of a biological or chemical attack on US citizens is greater. The mutual deterrence of the United State’s second-strike capability makes a nuclear attack against Americans unlikely. Meanwhile Chemical and biological are widespread and accessible to sub national actors who are not deterred from attacking by American nuclear and conventional forces. Both chemical and biological weapons present are

Throughout the progression of mankind, there has always been a need to become superior in tactics and technology over an opponent. It did not take long for man to discover the effective and deadly tactic of Bioterrorism, which is the deliberate release of viruses, bacteria or other germs used to cause illness or death in people, animals, or plants. As time passes, everything about bioterrorism becomes more and more sophisticated, making it very difficult to combat with. By examining the history of bioterrorism, one can learn how military forces utilize this deadly weapon.

Protecting the public’s health historically has been a state and local responsibility. However, the growing threat of bioterrorism has highlighted the importance of a strong public health infrastructure to the nation’s homeland security and has focused increased attention on the preparedness of the public health system (Frist, 2011). Since the 2001 anthrax attacks Congress has passed new legislation to increase the strength of the nation’s public health system thus the funding has also rapidly increased to meet the potential demand. There is an ongoing debate however, as to what level of contribution local, state, and federal agency’s feel is an appropriate level of ongoing public health investments.