-Caveat Lector-
http://www.nypost.com/news/worldnews/26705.htm
THE HIDDEN THREAT OF AGRO-TERROR
Sunday,March 18,2001
By DEBORAH ORIN
Think how easily a few bad guys could spark an outbreak of wildly
contagious foot-and-mouth disease like the one now devastating
Britain's livestock.
It's the latest fear on the terrorism front: agricultural
terrorism.
Experts say there's no sign that terrorists caused the disaster
in Britain - where a million animals may have to be destroyed -
but it could easily happen here. Or anywhere.
"We know it can be simple. We know it can be anonymous. We know
we don't have any good way to detect it," said Anthony Cordesman
of the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank.
Adds military analyst Dan Goure: "We should be quite worried. For
something as infectious as foot-and-mouth, all it takes is to run
across a field or smear cow dung from sick cows on your boots,
hide your boots in your luggage, then start tromping around
Iowa."
He says that until now, terrorists have targeted people or
buildings, so hitting cows or sheep didn't seem "as sexy" - but a
"clever terrorist" could see the potential.
Foot-and-mouth doesn't hurt humans, but it's so contagious it can
spread 50 miles on the wind, on shoes, on clothes, on car wheels.
Entire herds are being destroyed in Britain because a single cow
was exposed.
An agro-terrorist attack could devastate farmers, scare Americans
about the safety of their food supply and threaten an industry
that accounts for 13 percent of U.S. gross national product.
And foot-and-mouth is far from the only disease that terrorists
could use. A Pentagon report this January listed over 20 diseases
that could be used to devastate U.S. farms - from soybean rust to
anthrax.
So far, there hasn't been a verified case of international
agro-terrorism - but fears are growing.
That's why the National Security Council now serves on a working
group on agriculture and food safety - agro-terrorism is seen as
a weapon of mass destruction just like bio, chemical and nuclear
weapons. But this year, only $30 million is being spent on U.S.
research.
"Did you ever think of agriculture as part of the national
security system?" asks a U.S. official who says intelligence is
the best protection but it isn't perfect, any more than it is for
embassy bombings.
The official says "psychological impacts" are a special worry. A
country can be paralyzed if people fear the food they eat; a few
years ago, apples suddenly became an object of fear over the alar
scare.
Even more worrisome, the official adds, is the risk of phony
agro-terror scares. Last year, there were 400 false anthrax
scares across the country, and every single one had to be taken
seriously.
Actually, agro-terror is nothing new. A CSIS report says Germany
tried to infect French and U.S. livestock in World War I.
During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union
weaponized diseases such as foot-and-mouth. Saddam Hussein's Iraq
"seriously explored" ways to use wheat rust and camel pox to
attack Iran.
Today, experts say any country with modern veterinary medicine
could develop agro-terrorism.
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Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT
FROM THE DESK OF:
*Michael Spitzer* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends
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