U.S. Has No Defense Against Bioweapons

by Clark L. Staten

He was interviewed by American Reporter Correspondent Clark L. Staten, who heads the Chicago-based Emergency Response Research Insttitue and EmergencyNet News service, who has written extensively on terrorism.]

What weapons of mass destruction (WMD) -- chemical, biological, or nuclear -- do you see as the greatest threat to U.S. security at this time?

Plague, smallpox, anthrax, glanders [an infectious disease of horses communicable to man], melloidosis [a glanders-like disease of rodents transmissible to man], Marburg and Ebola infections, Lassa infection, Machupo infection, many other hemorrhagic fevers and various [forms of] encephalitis and many others.

To your knowledge, did the former Soviet Union work on genetic engineering or altering of the properties of "standard" biological agents used for weapons?

The Soviet Union has developed genetically altered antibiotic resistant strains of anthrax, plague, tularemia [a plague-like disease of rodents infectious to man], and glanders. New biological weapons (lab prototypes and pilot-plant techniques) have been developed on a basis of genetically altered plague, anthrax and tularemia. This country was intensively researching way to genetically alter some viruses. For example, for years it was researching the ways to genetically alter variola major [smallpox virus] by inserting some new genes in this virus genome.

To your knowledge, were strains of smallpox/variola exported to former Soviet allies? Other were other biological warfare agents?

I'm afraid I don't know anything about the specifics of this.

Do you believe that former Soviet scientists, who went unpaid for many months and familiar with bio-weapon technology, are now working in the so-called "rogue states" -- Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Sudan, Yemen, Africa, etc.?

Yes, I do. There is some information about this.

Do you believe that non-state-sponsored terrorists have or may obtain chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons from the former Soviet Union?

It is highly probable.

Here's a hypothetical -- if you were a terrorist and wanted to attack the U.S., what chemical/biological/nuclear agent would you chose to hurt the most people?

Marburg and Ebola [hemorrhagic fever] infections, plague, smallpox, anthrax and, unfortunately, many others.

If you had to pick one bio-weapon for a terrorist attack on the United States based on former Soviet doctrine, which one would you choose?

Smallpox or plague.

Did the former Soviet Union develop effective methods for non-explosive dispersal of biological agents?

Yes, it did. It was a spray technique based the use of spray tanks installed on medium range bombers. In the late '80s, this country started to develop a new type of application based on use of "a low flying, high-speed object" for bio-warfare application. Clearly, it was [the purpose of such] research work to use "cruise missiles" for bio-warfare application.

Theoretically, how would a terrorist operative disperse a bio-agent in a large city? Obviously, they don't have access to medium bombers or cruise missile technology. Could a man-portable system might be used by an individual or small group of persons to spread an agent? If so, how?

The most probable situations are these: contamination of food in restaurants, aerosolization in metro-systems [subways], shopping malls, administrative and commercial buildings, etc.

What are potentially the targets most vulnerable to attack by WMD within the continental United States? Which would have been targeted by the former Soviet Union?

For a military application of bio-warfare, these are cities, seaports, military bases and so on. For terrorist application, these are mostly shopping malls, commercial and administrative buildings, metro-systems and so on.

How should the United States prepared to effectively defend against WMD?

We need to stop deceiving people that vaccines are the most effective protection and start developing new therapeutic and preventive approaches and means based on a broad-spectrum protection.

How effective do you feel that vaccination or inoculation programs could be against potential WMD attacks on a civilian population within the United States? And vaccinations for military and emergency personnel?

It is not a way to solve this problem.

If vaccines aren't the answer, in your opinion, what is a better approach for protecting civilian populations and emergency personnel from bio-attacks?

There are too many biological agents that could be used in biological weapons. It is impossible to imagine how to develop this number of vaccines, and moreover how to vaccinate the entire population against all these diseases. The best approach is to develop a broad spectrum medical defense. It is quite a long research (it can take up to three to five years), but we are coming close to the possible solutions. I am working in this area now and I hope I will succeed.

Given limited federal government training and funding, what steps can local emergency response agencies best take to improve their preparedness for the potential of an attack using bio-agents??

What we need to do is to develop a new handbook to train first responders in this area. The problem is that everything we have now is absolutely inapplicable. I have been proposing my help for years, but haven't gotten a positive response. It is possible to accumulate funding from different sources (and different states and federal agencies) to have a contemporary and comprehensive manual for training first responders.

In your view, what is the current level of preparedness in the United States to respond to a Soviet-style attack using weapons of mass destruction?

I'm afraid it is very low.