[manx]

I wonder if the arabs are that stupid. If they release smallpox here, it will kill some of us but we will get it under control pretty quickly.

However, it is bound to spread to other parts of the world where they don't have money for prevention. It is bound to get back to the middle east, with international travel the way it is now. Far more of them will die.

[Sabertooth]

I wonder if the arabs are that stupid.

Why?

They're goading us into a war that will go worse for them than us, whatever happens. But they're still spoiling for a fight.

[OK]

However, it is bound to spread to other parts of the world where they don't have money for prevention. It is bound to get back to the middle east, with international travel the way it is now. Far more of them will die.

I agree. People can think of ways to argue that point, but powerful people in the Islamic countries know this disease can not be contained in the target country like Anthrax can. Unless we start seeing mass inoculation for smallpox in Islamic countries and China, there is little reason for worry on this. Anyone contemplating such a thing would be put out of his misery by the powers that be in China, Russia, etc.

[patent]

However, it is bound to spread to other parts of the world where they don't have money for prevention. It is bound to get back to the middle east, with international travel the way it is now. Far more of them will die.

Good point. Many in all parts of the Third World could die from this, not just in the Muslim areas.

patent  +AMDG

[RANGERAIRBORNE]

I made this same argument on another thread- there are some good reasons NOT to use smallpox as a biowarfare weapon, but chief among them is the vulnerability of your own population. And, in the case of the Middle East, where sanitary standards are low, public health is often pretty marginal, and crowding is common, such an epidemic would be devastating. In sub-Saharan Africa, it would probably cause 60-70% fatalities.

Ah, you say, but Iraq (for example) could simply immunize all of it's people.

No, they couldn't. The mere possession of enough smallpox vaccine to do the job would be an admission of guilt, and it's use could not be hidden for long- even from our bumbling CIA.

The result would be the total annihilation of that country by the U.S. (especially when our children start dying by the tens of thousands).

There are suicide bombers, but I am not aware of any "suicide nations".

[rstevens]

Wrong. The perpetrators will merely close down their borders. No international flights allowed. No one comes or goes, besides they will have made sure their people had been vaccinated. This is not a worry to a country that has prepared.

However, if this country would suffer this kind of a disaster, it would demand a nuclear retaliation. But then again, Berkely, CA would probably demand we remain calm.

[arthurus]

It is bound to get back to the middle east, with international travel the way it is now.

If smallpox is released in North America, I am certain that someone will make sure that it gets back to the near/middle east.