[an error occurred while processing this directive]
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
Guest Commentary December 29, 2001
Threat of Bioterrorism to U.S. Goes Beyond Our Borders
The Honorable Joseph Biden
When [former U.S. Senator] Sam Nunn testified in early September before the Foreign Relations Committee on the threat posed by biological weapons, he was very clear -- bioterrorism is a direct threat to the national security of the United States and we need to invest the necessary resources to counter this threat accordingly. As troubling as the recent spate of anthrax by mail attacks was, we were very fortunate that this was a comparatively small-scale attack. Eighteen Americans contracted inhalational or cutaneous anthrax; unfortunately, five individuals died. The next time a biological weapons attack occurs, we may not be so fortunate in dealing with a small number of victims who emerge over a period of weeks and months. Instead, we may face thousands of victims flooding local emergency rooms and overwhelming our hospitals in a matter of hours. ...
The anthrax attacks, as small-scale as they have been, have greatly stressed our national public health infrastructure. One out of every eight Centers for Disease Control employees at their headquarters in Atlanta is working on the current anthrax outbreak, forcing the CDC to sideline other essential core activities for the time being. What we have just been through is small potatoes compared to what we potentially will face. Plain and simple, we can't afford to be so under-prepared in the future.
Free Newsletter
Get the scoop on important legislation, Congressional action, election updates, hard-hitting political commentary, the latest developments in the War on Terror...and more! Just enter your email address below.
Privacy: Your name and email address will be confidential - never rented, never sold.
Among Sam Nunn's recommendations for countering biological terrorism, he declared, "We need to recognize the central role of public health and medicine in this effort and engage these professionals fully as partners on the national security team." ...
Our doctors, nurses, emergency medical technicians, and other public health personnel are our eyes and ears on the ground for detecting a biological weapons attack. We can't afford not to do everything we can to make sure they have the necessary tools and resources in containing any BW attack. ...
As Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, I know that we cannot address the threat of bioterrorism within the borders of the United States alone.
A biological weapons attack need not originate in the United States to pose a threat to our nation. A dangerous pathogen deliberately released anywhere in the world can quickly spread to the United States in a matter of days, if not hours. The scope and frequency of international trade, travel, and migration patterns offer unlimited opportunities for pathogens to spread across national borders and even to move from one continent to another. Therefore, I continue to believe we need to view all infectious disease epidemics, wherever they occur, as a potential threat to all nations.
It is for this reason that, when the Bioterrorism Preparedness Act was being drafted, Senator [Jesse] Helms [R-SC] and I had worked together in seeking to insert provisions in this bill to enhance global disease monitoring and surveillance. With Senator [Edward] Kennedy's [D-MA] strong backing, we had sought to ensure the full availability of information (i.e. disease characteristics, pathogen strains, transmission patterns) on infectious epidemics overseas that may provide clues indicating possible illegal biological weapons use or research. Even if an infectious disease outbreak occurs naturally, improved monitoring and surveillance can help contain the epidemic and tip off scientists and public health professionals to new diseases that may be used as biological weapons in the future. ...
I was greatly disappointed, therefore, when the White House expressed resistance to the language Senator Helms and I had worked out and sought to drop it from the final bill. While voicing support for our ideas, the White House believed that the Bioterrorism Preparedness Act should only focus on domestic defenses against bioterrorism and was not the appropriate vehicle for the international programs we proposed.
I strongly disagree. It doesn't make sense to draw artificial boundaries between "domestic" and "international" responses to bioterrorism. ... Pathogens deliberately released in an attack anywhere in the world can quickly spread to the United States if we are unable to contain the epidemic at its source. The National Intelligence Council has concluded that infectious diseases are a real threat to U.S. national security. To ignore the international arena in favor of domestic solutions alone just doesn't make any sense. ...
We cannot leave the rest of the world to fend for itself in combating biological weapons and infectious diseases in general if we are to ensure America's security as well.
Joseph Biden, a Democrat, is a U.S. Senator from Delaware. The above commentary has been adapted from a speech Sen. Biden delivered on the floor of the Senate, December 20, 2001. To contact him, Click Here.
The above column has been distributed by PoliticsOL.com.
