Jim Walsh

The media and American politicians have overhyped the danger of biological and chemical attacks, Jim Walsh claims in the following viewpoint. Walsh argues that terrorist groups have never used biological weapons, and the sole chemical attack killed only twelve people. He maintains that the rhetoric of Attorney General John Ashcroft and irresponsible television news stories have dangerous consequences, from needlessly scaring Americans to actually encouraging terrorist groups to use these weapons. Jim Walsh is the director of the Managing the Atom Project and a research fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. According to Walsh, how were biological weapons used in colonial America? 2. How does the author describe the typical television story on biochemical terrorism?
3. In the author’s opinion, what...