Focus on bioterror threat
Terrorists have not struck the United States since 9/11, in part because of the government's heightened security and intelligence measures. But the Mumbai, India, raid is a reminder that they are looking for vulnerabilities and constantly thinking up new ways to do harm.
As the new Obama administration considers what to do about the measures taken by Congress and the Bush administration since 2001, including controversial interrogation and communications surveillance programs, it should consider a sobering new report commissioned by Congress at the request of the 9/11 Commission. The study, by the Commission for the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism, singles out bioterrorism as a more probable threat than nuclear terrorism and warns that there is a better than 50-50 chance of a bioterror attack somewhere in the world in the next five years under present conditions of relatively lax control over dangerous biological agents and biowar technology.
Commission Chairman Bob Graham, a former Democratic senator from Florida and former chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the "World at Risk" report shows that "it is more likely than not that a weapon of mass destruction will be used someplace in the world prior to the end of year 2013." And it is more likely than not that the weapon would be biological, he said.
These are provocative statements, but they could have a positive impact if the incoming administration heeds the warning that security awareness in the academic and commercial life-sciences communities has not kept pace with advances in the emergence of biological risks and threats. That could make it much easier for terrorists to obtain access to advanced technology for weaponizing infectious agents like anthrax. According to the commission's vice chairman, former Republican Senator Jim Talent of Missouri, terrorist groups may simply be able to purchase the needed know-how.
The report also warned that Pakistan remains a major concern in the war on terror. "Were one to map terrorism and the weapons of mass destruction today, all roads would intersect in Pakistan," it said.
Preventing a major terrorist attack requires both a good defense — preventing terrorist access to mass-killing technology — and an offense informed about what terrorists are planning and where they can be found and stopped.
The Obama administration should not discard any tools that have proven to be effective in this fight.
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