All the talk today about WMD's is nuclear weapons, and dirty bombs which by all means are extremely dangerous weapons, but the threat from Biological weapons is real and still exists. The U.S. still hasn't had much sucess in determining who committed the Anthrax attacks in the U.S. after 9/11. I keep current on Homeland Security and I am frankly frightened by the lack of any sort of planning for a bio-weapon attack.
With the end of the Cold War, Russia has supposedly destroyed its bio-weapon stocks and stopped research. That is highly unlikely because is Richard Preston's recent book "Demon in the Freezer" he discusses that recently a Russian Virologist had genetically engineered a pox virus with an ebola virus gene add to it. What person for the "sake of medical research" would put a ebola gene into a pox virus? I believe as many others that Russia is still making their "poor man's atomic bomb." Ken Alibek (The second in charge of USSR's bio-weapons program) who defected to the U.S. in 1994, said that Russia has stopped making weapons but easily could start again at any time. The Russian Government never destroyed its reciepe's for making these WMD's. Since the Cold War's end many of these bio-weapon scientists have lost their jobs, and whats keeping them from working for another country like North Korea, or working for terrorists.
The main problem with Bio-weapons is that their cheap to make, and it doesn't take a nuclear physicist to make one either. In "Demon In the Freezer" the book discusses how much and easily it would take a half educated med student to make a genetically engineered small pox virus.
People should start worrying about a bio-weapon attack, because unlike nuclear weapons which only damage a region of a country with the blast wave and radiation, a bio-weapon can easily spread into a world pandemic.
If you are interested in learning more I highly recommend these books
Richard Preston, "Demon in the Freezer" & "Cobra Event"
Ken Alibeks, "Biohazard: A Detailed Account of Russia's Illegal Bio-Weapons Program."
Their all eye opening books.
With the end of the Cold War, Russia has supposedly destroyed its bio-weapon stocks and stopped research. That is highly unlikely because is Richard Preston's recent book "Demon in the Freezer" he discusses that recently a Russian Virologist had genetically engineered a pox virus with an ebola virus gene add to it. What person for the "sake of medical research" would put a ebola gene into a pox virus? I believe as many others that Russia is still making their "poor man's atomic bomb." Ken Alibek (The second in charge of USSR's bio-weapons program) who defected to the U.S. in 1994, said that Russia has stopped making weapons but easily could start again at any time. The Russian Government never destroyed its reciepe's for making these WMD's. Since the Cold War's end many of these bio-weapon scientists have lost their jobs, and whats keeping them from working for another country like North Korea, or working for terrorists.
The main problem with Bio-weapons is that their cheap to make, and it doesn't take a nuclear physicist to make one either. In "Demon In the Freezer" the book discusses how much and easily it would take a half educated med student to make a genetically engineered small pox virus.
People should start worrying about a bio-weapon attack, because unlike nuclear weapons which only damage a region of a country with the blast wave and radiation, a bio-weapon can easily spread into a world pandemic.
If you are interested in learning more I highly recommend these books
Richard Preston, "Demon in the Freezer" & "Cobra Event"
Ken Alibeks, "Biohazard: A Detailed Account of Russia's Illegal Bio-Weapons Program."
Their all eye opening books.