Sam Nunn on bioterrorism threat, today's WSJ:
In a conversation this week, the former chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee praised the Colin Powell-led diplomatic effort and the Don Rumsfeld-led war effort over the past six weeks. The cautious Mr. Nunn is no alarmist. But he sees a real crisis, a lengthy one, and worries the country is dangerously slow in responding in areas ranging from domestic bioterrorism protection to the psychological war overseas. In particular, he advocates:
- A "Manhattan project" to accelerate research and provide more and better vaccines and antibiotics. The government, belatedly, is moving expeditiously on anthrax and in getting smallpox vaccines. (Smallpox is far more lethal than anthrax; it's contagious and would kill an estimated 30% of those infected.)
But this isn't sufficient, says Mr. Nunn, who is now CEO of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, which spends considerable time on the biological and chemical threat. It's critical, he says, to anticipate and get biotechnical capabilities and antibiotics "which have wider applications. We may face pathogens we're not familiar with now."
The government, he says, should start immediately installing more detection devices in public facilities and sports stadiums.... |
