Biological Weapons

PSR calls for strengthened Biological Weapons Convention inspections and protocols to close loopholes

Biological weapons are considered the “poor man’s atomic bomb.” While cheaper and easier to manufacture than nuclear weapons, bioweapons can match and exceed the destructive power of atomic bombs. The expertise and materials to produce these weapons are widely available in pharmaceutical research labs and industrial facilities worldwide.  A few terrorist groups have already succeeded in acquiring biological weapons. In 1984 members of Guru Rajneeshee’s religious cult used salmonella poisoning to sicken over seven hundred people in Oregon. The Japanese cult group, Aum Shinrikyo, attempted to manufacture anthrax and Ebola. More recently, intelligence and media reports gathered during the Afghanistan war confirmed Al Qaeda and Bin Laden’s active pursuit of and experimentation with biological weapons.
 
Physicians for Social Responsibility advocates for the following policy positions to begin to address this risk:

• Work with other countries to strengthen verification and compliance measures in the Biolgical Weapons Convention (BWC)
• Fund local emergency responders and FEMA to be able to adequetely coordinate an effective medical / public health response should a biological, chemical, radiological, nuclear or high-impact conventional weapon attack occur
• Provide increased funding for the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program that, among other things, helps Russia and the former Soviet states secure and eliminate their vast stockpile of biological weapons materials and expertise so it does not fall into the hands of terrorists.
• Stop pursuing new bio weapons programs, which put our nation in violation of the BWC.

We believe these measures will represent a marked shift from the previous administration's dangerous policies and reduce this continued risk to our country's welfare.