Dr. Amy Smithson, Senior Fellow at the Center for Strategic and
International Studies, discusses the threat of biological weapons
and the policy options to address them. Following Aum Shinrikyo’s 1995 sarin
attack on a Tokyo subway, revelations about the USSR’s massive biological
weapons program and Iraq’s germ warfare program in the 1990’s, and the sending
of anthrax-laced letters to the US government offices, considerable efforts have
been made to understand and deal with the threat of biological weapons. What
actions are currently being taken to address these problems? Is the US
government prepared to respond? How do we rate the US government’s performance?
Dr. Smithson will address these questions and more as she shares the results of
her comprehensive study.
