If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times. The UN Flag
is only good for one thing. And the UN stands for un-American!
Posted on 11/01/2001 9:04:35 AM PST by eFudd
Bush Proposes Criminalizing Biological Weapons
By Arshad Mohammed
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As the United States grapples with an anthrax scare, President Bush (news - web sites) proposed on Thursday making it a crime to build biological weapons and creating a U.N. system to investigate suspected germ warfare.
In a statement released by the White House, Bush proposed that all parties to the 1972 Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, which bans such germ warfare, ``enact strict national criminal legislation against prohibited (biological weapons) activities with strong extradition requirements.''
He also called for establishing ``an effective United Nations (news - web sites) procedure for investigating suspicious outbreaks or allegations of biological weapons use.''
The United States independently and unconditionally gave up the possession and use of biological weapons before the 1972 convention, which prohibits the 144 nations party to it from possessing all biological weapons.
The White House said the United States, which signed the agreement, was making the proposals to strengthen the treaty's provisions given the growing threat of germ warfare following the Sept. 11 hijacked-plane attacks.
``Today, we know the scourge of biological weapons has not been eradicated. Instead the threat is growing,'' Bush said in the statement.
``Since September 11, America and others have been confronted by the evils these weapons can inflict. This threat is really and extremely dangerous,'' he added. ``Rogue states and terrorists possess these weapons and are willing to use them.''
Four people have died of pulmonary anthrax in the last month out of a total of 16 people who have caught the disease, according to the Atlanta-based federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (news - web sites).
U.S. officials have said they suspect that Saudi-born Osama bin Laden (news - web sites)'s al Qaeda group, accused of masterminding the Sept. 11 attacks, may be behind the anthrax outbreak but that they have no proof.
The president said he had ordered his aides to consult U.S. allies and with members of Congress, the business community and others to discuss ``how best to achieve our common aim of eliminating biological weapons.''
``Our objective is to fashion an effective international approach to strengthen the Biological Weapons Convention,'' he said, adding that the U.S. proposals did not constitute a complete solution to the use of germ warfare ``for evil purposes.''
Among his proposals, Bush called for all parties to:
-establish procedures for addressing compliance concerns about the convention;
-commit to improving international disease control and to enhancing mechanisms to send experts to cope with outbreaks;
-establish sound national oversight mechanisms for the security and genetic engineering of ``pathogenic'' organisms;
-devise a code of ethical conduct for bioscientists,
-and promote responsible conduct in the study, use, modification and shipment of ``pathogenic organisms.''
Sounds good, but where is the beef?
If the United States independently and unconditionally gave up the possession and use of biological weapons before the 1972 convention, why is the media saying that only Russia, Iraq and the USA could have made the Anthrax that was used?
Do we still have or manufacture Anthrax or not? If so, would that qualify us as a Rogue State per this new law?
The government has a gun at your head or your family's head. They want you to make Anthrax.
Is it more ethical to let them kill your family or to make Anthrax you doubt they will ever use?
Some Nuclear scientests in Socialist (Nazi) Germany had a similar problem. As I recall some of them just went through the motions as looked like they were making progress.
Again, it comes back to how in the world are you going to enforce a code of ethics?
If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times. The UN Flag
is only good for one thing. And the UN stands for un-American!
By passing laws like the hate crime laws. They will convict and punish you for what THEY think YOU are thinking. Doesn't sound like the America I used to know.
If this proposal is accepted I expect a repeat of the Durban meeting with all sorts of penny ante nations accusing us and having UN teams running all over the country looking for things at a great waste of time and money and lots of inconvenience for US companies. It could also facilitate idustrial espionage.
I am a strong Bush supporter but this is one of several things he and I disagree on.
This is a big point of contention in some areas. That is why Bush is calling it war but the Clinton crowd called it a crime. Slick and gang (Reno) turned down Sudan's offer to turn Usama bin Laden over to us because they did not think they could make the charges stick in court. At least that was their excuse. I think he just didn't want to deal with it lest he have to make a tough decision which might cost him some popularity.
I think it would be much more effective to say something along the line of "if you do this, then you, your family and the city you live in will be vaporized.
Back that up by doing it once or twice -- and then the problem would become moot.
Silly me, I thought biological weapons were legal.
"A public service announcement: All citizens should immediately turn in their personal stockpiles of biological weapons to the nearest Handgun Control field office."
If your comment was in jest, then I appreciate you ability to laugh at something that is quite dangerous.
If you are attempting to say that defending yourself with a gun is the moral equivalent of sending Anthrax through the mail, then you are obviously a product of the public school system; And I do not know what to say to you.
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