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I don't take it at face value.. I have questions, and am not alone buddie. For example:

http://reese.king-online.com/Reese_20021004/index.php

The Smallpox Hoax

I'm curious why the United States government is trying to frighten the American people with the possibility of a biological attack that uses smallpox.

The U.S. government is well-aware that smallpox was pronounced eradicated from the world and that only two governments possess smallpox viruses — the United States and Russia.

Not even in its wildest accusations has the Bush administration suggested that Iraq or any other member of its "axis of evil" has access to the smallpox virus. Yet it has made a big deal about buying vaccines and talked much about plans to vaccinate the entire population if an attack occurs.

Well, there is only one way an attack can occur, and that is if someone in the United States or Russia makes the virus available to terrorists. I would think that is highly unlikely. But, by the by, it is known that Russia has developed a super-virulent form of smallpox against which vaccination would offer no protection. The U.S. government has paid the Russians for samples of this super-bug, yet Russia has found one excuse after another to avoid delivering the sample we paid for.

Since Mr. Bush has stared into Russian President Vladimir Putin's eyes and pronounced him a trustworthy friend, I wonder why President Bush hasn't picked up the phone and asked his pal, Putin, to hand over what we've already paid for.

This is just another example of why I believe the United States should be focusing its diplomatic and intelligence resources on Russia and China instead of diddling around with Third World countries. When you are in bear country, it pays to watch the bears and not be distracted by foxes and squirrels.

Unfortunately, biological agents are easy to produce, though the methods of distribution are much more complicated. It is probably only a matter of time before there is a biological attack. Yet you should know that one country stands in the way of a worldwide treaty, backed up by inspections, to ban biological-weapons research and production. That country, of course, is the United States. It seems that drug companies object to the idea of international inspections.

The outbreak of what was called Spanish flu in 1918 is a reminder of what biological warfare could do. This was, apparently, a natural disease. It appeared in the spring of 1918 and disappeared in the spring of 1919, but during that short duration it killed 20 million people, mostly children and young adults. In France, 166,000 people died; in Germany, 225,000; in Great Britain, 228,900; and in the United States, 550,000. In India, the death toll was 16 million.

At the time, nobody knew what it was or where it had originated. It was certainly not like any flu we are familiar with. About 25 percent of its victims were 15 and younger, and another 45 percent were between 15 and 35. It was said that people would develop symptoms in the morning and often be dead by the afternoon. Since viruses mutate all the time, the possibility of another such pandemic can never be ruled out. Of course, at the time, nobody knew anything about viruses.

When I was boy, smallpox vaccinations were mandatory, and comparing scars was one of those silly things that occupy the minds of elementary-school children. I cannot recall any cases of fatal reactions, though naturally children at the age of 6 are not the best-informed human beings.

But nevertheless, there are far more immediate threats than a possible smallpox outbreak, and one has to wonder why the government has put so much attention on it. I suspect it is just part of the administration's ongoing campaign to scare people into supporting its endless war against terrorism.