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Terrorists Face Technical Difficulties in Acquiring Biological Warfare Capabilities, Experts Say
Terrorists seeking to acquire biological weapons are likely to face a variety of technical obstacles, biological warfare experts said in a Washington Post article last week (see GSN, Dec. 14, 2004). The medical community is cautious about selling specimens of virulent anthrax specimens, according to the Post, while live samples of smallpox are believed to exist only at two secure facilities — one in Russia and the other in the United States. Some experts, however, have said a terrorist group is likely to obtain the capability to launch biological attacks, according to the Post. Biological weapons development information is readily accessible and necessary equipment is easy to come by. Scientific advances and rapid dissemination of such knowledge are making it easier for even relatively unskilled scientists to develop pathogens, the Post reported. While there are 1,000 to 10,000 known biological “weaponeers” worldwide, there are potentially millions of “broadly skilled” scientists who could create such weapons, according to Richard Danzig, a biowarfare consultant to the U.S. Defense Department. “It seems likely that, over a period between a few months and a few years, broadly skilled individuals equipped with modest laboratory equipment can develop biological weapons,” Danzig said. “Only a thin wall of terrorist ignorance and inexperience now protects us.” A 2002 National Defense University study concluded that, at the time, rogue states or disgruntled scientists were more likely to develop large-scale biological weapons, the Post reported. Since then, dissemination of knowledge and increased availability of equipment have made it possible for less-skilled individuals to develop biological weapons, experts said (John Mintz, Washington Post, Dec. 30, 2004).
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