DesertFox
03-23-2001, 07:50 PM
Professor Peter Chalk is an expert on transnational terrorism at the RAND Corporation in Washington.
THE ISSUE of mass destruction terrorism has evoked considerable attention in the USA, at the policy and academic levels, particularly since Aum Shinriyko launched a sarin nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system in 1995. Reflecting this, the US federal anti-terrorism budget has ballooned in the last few years. In Fiscal Year 2001 (FY01) US$1.555 billion has been requested to augment homeland defences against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear attacks, more than double the figure allocated in FY98 ($645 million).
One somewhat surprising addition to the 2001 budget is a line-item for $39.8 million to be apportioned to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), a federal body that has not in the past received much attention in US national security contingencies. Its inclusion reflects a growing concern that the agricultural sector, which accounts for roughly one sixth of US GDP - more if related food industries and suppliers are factored in - may become the target of a future act of chemical or biological (CB) terrorism. This concern has been generated by a growing realisation that CB attacks against livestock and the food chain are substantially easier and less risky to carry out than those directed at civilian targets.
. . .
Weaponising biological pathogens to destroy agricultural livestock is a far easier process than creating munitions designed to kill people. Several factors account for this:
- there are many more agents that are lethal and highly contagious to animals than is the case with humans, many of which are not routinely vaccinated against. At least 22 such diseases are known to exist. Most are also environmentally resilient - being able to exist for long periods of time in and on organic matter - and are reasonably easy to acquire and produce;
- US livestock has become progressively more disease prone in recent years as a result of intensive antibiotic and steroid programmes and husbandry changes designed to elevate the volume, quality and quantity of meat production, as well as satisfy the specific requirements of potential vendors. These biotechnic modifications, which can include anything from branding and disinfectant sterilisation treatments to dehorning, castration and hormone injections, have combined to dramatically elevate the stress levels of exposed livestock. This has lowered the natural tolerance of farm animals to diseases and increased the volume of bacteria that would normally be shed in the event of infection; and
- problems of pathogenic dissemination have been largely circumvented due to the intensive way in which US farm animals are currently reared, bred and transported. Most US dairies can be expected to contain at least 1,500 lactating cows at any one time; some of the largest premises housing up to 10,000 animals. The outbreak of a contagious disease at one of these facilities would be very difficult to control and could necessitate the destruction of all the livestock, a formidable and expensive task.
Entire article at http://www.janes.com/regional_news/americas/news/jir/jir010209_1_n.shtml
THE ISSUE of mass destruction terrorism has evoked considerable attention in the USA, at the policy and academic levels, particularly since Aum Shinriyko launched a sarin nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system in 1995. Reflecting this, the US federal anti-terrorism budget has ballooned in the last few years. In Fiscal Year 2001 (FY01) US$1.555 billion has been requested to augment homeland defences against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear attacks, more than double the figure allocated in FY98 ($645 million).
One somewhat surprising addition to the 2001 budget is a line-item for $39.8 million to be apportioned to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), a federal body that has not in the past received much attention in US national security contingencies. Its inclusion reflects a growing concern that the agricultural sector, which accounts for roughly one sixth of US GDP - more if related food industries and suppliers are factored in - may become the target of a future act of chemical or biological (CB) terrorism. This concern has been generated by a growing realisation that CB attacks against livestock and the food chain are substantially easier and less risky to carry out than those directed at civilian targets.
. . .
Weaponising biological pathogens to destroy agricultural livestock is a far easier process than creating munitions designed to kill people. Several factors account for this:
- there are many more agents that are lethal and highly contagious to animals than is the case with humans, many of which are not routinely vaccinated against. At least 22 such diseases are known to exist. Most are also environmentally resilient - being able to exist for long periods of time in and on organic matter - and are reasonably easy to acquire and produce;
- US livestock has become progressively more disease prone in recent years as a result of intensive antibiotic and steroid programmes and husbandry changes designed to elevate the volume, quality and quantity of meat production, as well as satisfy the specific requirements of potential vendors. These biotechnic modifications, which can include anything from branding and disinfectant sterilisation treatments to dehorning, castration and hormone injections, have combined to dramatically elevate the stress levels of exposed livestock. This has lowered the natural tolerance of farm animals to diseases and increased the volume of bacteria that would normally be shed in the event of infection; and
- problems of pathogenic dissemination have been largely circumvented due to the intensive way in which US farm animals are currently reared, bred and transported. Most US dairies can be expected to contain at least 1,500 lactating cows at any one time; some of the largest premises housing up to 10,000 animals. The outbreak of a contagious disease at one of these facilities would be very difficult to control and could necessitate the destruction of all the livestock, a formidable and expensive task.
Entire article at http://www.janes.com/regional_news/americas/news/jir/jir010209_1_n.shtml