Chief Homeland Security Medical Officer Stresses Threat of Anthrax Terror Attack
July 25, 2008 by national
Filed under Homeland Security News
Al Qaeda continues to plot terror attacks that would include biological agents, and the terror group has focused specifically on the use of anthrax as a weapon, the chief medical officer at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told a congressional panel during a field hearing in Rhode Island Tuesday.
“Given the challenges we face in assessing current terrorist capabilities and identifying plots, it is unlikely that we will receive actionable or specific warning of an imminent biological attack. Furthermore, many of these deadly biological agents, including anthrax, are readily available in nature, relatively easy to procure, culture, and weaponize,” Jeffrey Runge, assistant secretary of Homeland Security for Health Affairs, told the House Committee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emerging Threats, Cybersecurity, and Science and Technology.
Runge, who reminded congressmen he would step down from his post in early August, said many legitimate research programs around the globe use anthrax, making it difficult for the United States to gain intelligence on where terror threats using the biological agent may emerge.
