It would be legitimate to reproduce simulants of what an adversary has developed - in order to test defenses against any new advance in technology.
So, you're saying that the international ban on developing bioweapons doesn't ban a country from developing bioweapons if that country does it in secret and does it because someone believes that some other country is developing bioweapons in secret?
That's an interesting interpretation. It seems like something that can be checked.
No, I’m not saying that.
I’m saying it would be legitimate to reproduce what a defector has revealed were the specifications of an adversary’s latest BW. That would essential to ensure that counter-measures are effective. In some cases it might even be legtimate to make not just simulants of the new technology but actual small quantities of the real stuff.
Going beyond that and making even more sophsticated powders may be illegal under the treaty.
Ed,
1, I wrote that. It seems like it might be something that you could have checked before you made your comment yesterday attributing a point of view to Dr. Rebel that is totally at odds with the one he has expressed.
2. Dany Shoham and Stuart Jacobsen explain: “The likely operational involvement of al-Qaida has thereupon been indicated as well, implying, naturally that elements in Saudi Arabia, the cradle of al-Qaeda.” But then rather than taking 15 baby steps down the hall of academia to the leading anthrax scientist and former deputy commander, Jacobsen takes a wild fantastic and baseless leap to Dr. Wouter Basson, described as a “masterly South African scientist who had strong bonds within the Arab world and beyond.” What speculative crock! Given that someone who was working closely with the “911 imam” shared a fax with the leading anthrax scientist and former deputy commander — when is Jacobsen going to grow some balls and face up to the obvious calculated infiltration that occurred. Dany is former Israeli intelligence. Dr. J is just along for the ride on an intelligence analysis that has no connection to the supporting evidence. Rather than solid factual evidence such as “USAMRIID shipped Battelle Ames in May/June of 2001” — or “the GMU researchers were supplied Delta Ames by NIH as part of the contract with USAMRIID (and the Daschle anthrax revealed an inverted plasmid)” — we are treated to such speculation as “[Basson] could have handed over the Ames strain to the Iraqis.”
The authors say that Al Qaeda “itself could be the intermediary (and the perpetrator, but not the [weaponized anthrax] producer).” Right off, the authors have overlooked the possibility that the weaponized anthrax was just stolen from a US program, let alone the possibility that the know-how was stolen and then executed by people with far more experience in making powders from organic materials than do the authors. If it was stolen, that would serve as an additional reasono as to why there was no follow-up.
I like both the authors. But this is not the time to allow folks to be comfortable and go unchallenged just because they feel comfortable in their settled views — wearing them like a pair of old, worn smelly slippers.
TrebleRebel,
Ed assumed Hatfill had government approval for his alleged white nationalist activity (weapons training).
Ed writes in a thread he started that he titled “Steven J. Hatfill and The Clueless Media”:
“The CRAP about “a man like Dr. Hatfill who had served in the armed forces
of two white racist governments” is what REALLY bothers me. According to
Hatfill’s resume, between June of 1975 and March of 1978 Hatfill was with
BOTH the United States Army Institute for Military Assistance AND the SAS
in Rhodesia. To me that says that Hatfill was in the U.S. Army and was
assigned to the SAS in Rhodesia as some kind of advisor or observer or
consultant.”
Plus, and correct me if I’m wrong on this, but as I recall from reading
history books about The Flying Tigers and The American Eagles with the RAF
during World War II, an American cannot serve in the armed forces of
another government without losing his U.S. citizenship - - UNLESS he has
U.S. Government approval.
Ed “
Hatfill never was in the US Army as Ed imagined. The media writing on the subject was steeped in sources from South Africa on this precise issue. It was Ed who lacked solid information.