In the wake of recent outbreaks of anthrax nationwide, concerns about a large-scale terrorist attack with chemical or biological weapons are steadily growing. The Bush Administration recently allocated almost $2 billion to combat chemical and biological terrorism. That money will primarily be used to produce and distribute antibiotics for exposure to anthrax and other potential agents.
The District of Columbia is doing its part to develop preventative measures against a possible attack involving anthrax. Metro plans on installing extensive sensor systems in subway systems to alert security to any chemical attack, and a similar system to guard against a biological attack is in development.
Preventive measures designed to deal with chemical and biological weapons have the potential to help create programs that actually save lives. This hasn’t always been the case. The worthless Cold War-era practice of training school children to crouch underneath their desks in the event of a nuclear attack illustrates just how na?ve preventive measures against weapons of mass destruction can be. Similarly, President Bush’s planned missile defense system may be less likely to actively stop any missiles than to simply show would-be attackers how they shouldn’t attack. In this case, defense is an all-or-nothing situation.
Preventive measures against chemical or biological terrorism, however, might include actively training the public to respond to an attack. Beyond vaccine and antibiotic development, such measures could include programs that would educate the public about effective self-diagnosis techniques, how to seek appropriate treatment, or how to handle situations when anthrax exposure is an immediate threat.
Unfortunately, chemical and biological terrorism defense can still fall victim to the fatal weakness of being completely circumnavigable. Americans can’t hope to be prepared for exposure to every possible range of biological and chemical agent at all times; immunizing the entire public against one strain of a virus can’t possibly prevent terrorist organizations from simply attacking using a different strain. Likewise, measures against bacteria or chemicals will always leave gaps.
Strengthening existing medical infrastructure and training medical personnel to deal with a large-scale bioterrorist attack are possible solutions. However the federal government decides to implement preventative measures, they must be flexible enough to save lives in any possible scenario.
