[Fred Mertz]

This guy gets it.

[Thud]

Idiot. He's saying that nuclear weapons aren't a threat because weapons-grade fissionables don't occur in nature.

The terrorist smallpox threat comes from xSoviet bioengineered smallpox. They made hundreds of tons of the stuff and several tons are still around. There are only a few vials of natural smallpox left.

Natural smallpox. 40-60% morbidity. 7-15 day incubation period. 10-30% lethality.

xSoviet biowar smallpox. 60-90% morbidity. 1-5 day incubation period! 30-50% lethality.

Check the chapter titled "The Soviet Betrayal" in the book Sourge.

[ffrancone]

There's no reason to believe that any of our enemies has smallpox virus.

This statement by the author is not true. I spoke several months ago with a good contact in the intelligence community. We do not know where all our smallpox virus is. Some is unaccounted for.

If our security is so bad, can you imagine the Soviet security issues. You know there is strong evidence they were manufacturing large amounts of smallpox during the cold war.

Perhaps the rest of the article makes sense; but this statement is outlandish.