Bioviolence – new, deadlier weapons of choice for terrorists

By Dick Pelletier

     An impending danger threatens the world – bioviolence. Although no nation state admits to having a biological weapons program, according to a recent DePaul University report, US intelligence officials assert that as many as 10 countries might have active programs, including North Korea, Iran, and Syria.

     The report, authored by DePaul Law Professor Barry Kellman, also states that Al-Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah and other terrorist groups have expressed interest in acquiring biological weapons. Most nations see a moral problem with using bioweapons, but terrorists feel no such restrictions.

     According to a lengthy fatwa commissioned by Osama bin Laden, jihadists are entitled to use weapons of mass destruction against infidels, even if it means killing innocent women, children, and Muslims. And bioviolence is perhaps the most dire, easiest means to expose millions to sure death.

     Kellman believes it would be relatively easy to launch a bio-attack. An offender could infect himself with a deadly disease that has been genetically altered for a slow infection process. He would sneak into a crowded city before his symptoms ever became apparent and infect unsuspecting victims, turning each one into carriers who would then infect others.

     A recent simulation created at the Center for Strategic and International Studies revealed that a single carrier of smallpox, for example, could infect 10 to 20 people, creating wave after wave of outbreaks. The number of cases projected by the end of the fourth wave was 3 million, with a third of the victims dying – one million deaths caused by a single terrorist act.

     Envision a series of attacks against major cities around the world. The attacks would carry a well-publicized yet simple warning: "If you are a friend of the US, thousands of your people will die." How many attacks would it take before international diplomacy comes to a screeching halt?

     Deterrence by threat of retaliation is essentially meaningless for groups with suicidal inclinations whose soldiers are brainwashed into dying for a cause. Many Islamic fundamentalist organizations have overtly proclaimed their intention to develop and use bioweapons. In the Encyclopedia of Jihad, al-Qaeda devotes a whole chapter to bioweapons.

     Kellman's report recommends five steps for preventing bioviolence: 1) Deny illicit access to pathogens and bio-research labs. 2) Improve information gathering to detect illicit bioviolence preparations. 3) Strengthen biocriminal laws and police capabilities. 4) Enhance disease resistance and public-health response globally. 5) Devise and implement effective bioweapons nonproliferation policies.

     Although analysts admit that these steps may not be able to prevent a bio-attack launched today, most believe that technologies will one day bring an end to these horrific acts. Over the next four-to-five decades, biotech, nanotech, and artificial intelligence revolutions promise to increase intelligence by a billion-fold, and this, experts say, could eliminate most human hostilities.

     As civilization moves forward, everyone's health and longevity will be greatly extended. This will place a much higher value on human life. If people develop the potential to live for hundreds or even thousands of years, life could become the most valued commodity on Earth; and terrorists, who will also benefit from tomorrow's breakthroughs, will be far less likely to conduct acts of violence against their fellow humans.

     Go "magical future."

This article appeared in various print publications and on-line blogs. Comments always welcome.