Biological Threats of Terrorism
The Conflict
The anthrax mail attacks in the United States in the fall of 2001 alerted an already terrorism-sensitive world to the dangers of biological terrorist attack. A silent and deadly weapon, biological agents could potentially take a great toll on a population unprepared for and unaware that a biological attack was taking place. Several preparedness and training simulations in late 2001 and early 2002 revealed concerns about the ability of response teams and government and health officials to deal with such an attack. While the perpetrator of the U.S. anthrax attacks is unknown, the attacks themselves have raised consciousness of a population's vulnerability to biological terrorism and concerns that the mail attacks may just be a precursor to a new trend in terrorism.
Political
- While several international agreements have banned the production and use of biological weapons, monitoring compliance to these agreements has been difficult.
- Several states suspected of being state sponsors of terrorism, such as Iraq and Iran, are suspected of pursuing biological weapons programs.
Economic
- With the collapse of the Soviet Union, technicians and stockpiles from the world's largest biological weapons program have flooded the black market of terrorist resources.
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