WP 7/30/06: The Secretive Fight Against Bioterror

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Washington Post, July 30, 2006

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/29/

AR2006072900592_pf.html

The Secretive Fight Against Bioterror--Joby Warrick

The government is building a highly classified facility to research

biological weapons, but its closed-door approach has raised concerns...

(The long article can be found at the URL above)

From Meryl Nass: This research facility and its mission raise red

flags about US compliance with the Biological Weapons Convention

treaty.

The US has foiled international attempts to add methods for oversight,

verification and the establishment of sanctions, similar to what are

used for the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Development of this facility, and the establishment of a mission to

develop biological weapons as part of the process of " thinking like a

terrorist " probably provide an answer as to why the US did not want to

strengthen this treaty: instead, the US wanted to be able to break the

treaty without international observers breathing down our neck.

The potential risks are great, and include:

1) inadvertent escape of a deadly microorganism with illness in

workers, potential spread to the community and possibly wide

dissemination

2) inadvertent escape due to failures in decontamination systems, air

filters, etc.

3) deliberate escape via a rogue scientist or other employee

4) the development of offensive biological weapons by the US that could

be produced in bulk elsewhere, and used

5) Stimulating offensive biowarfare programs in other nations that do

not want to be " left behind " in this new arms race

Meryl Nass, MD