Friday, September 9, 2011

Former Senator: An Attack of Biological Proportion

In 2008, former Senator Jim Talent, vice chairman of the national Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism, predicted that a terrorist attack by 2013 is "more likely than not" barring urgent action, reported the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The most likely form of attack, Talent and others concluded, would involve unleashing a biological agent such as anthrax. 

Talent and former Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., the chair of the WMD commission, plan to release a new report that reiterates the threat of biological attack and grades the nation on its preparations to withstand it. According to the Post-Dispatch, the former senators said they are especially worried about cuts in security spending, cuts felt already by states and localities that would be on the front lines of responding.

In the drive to reduce the nation's debt, anti-terrorism efforts are undergoing the same scrutiny as other government programs. Preparation for a biological attack will be pitted against spending on social programs, the military budget, alternative energy and a host of federal expenditures when the 'super committee" in Congress convenes shortly to chart trillions in reduced spending in coming years, reported the Post-Dispatch.

To read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/national/article_5ff26ec9-f189-5b82-a4fc-cd74184d810a.html#ixzz1XSBij7wS


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