No, smallpox is being talked up for the same reason other marginal or non-existent threats, such as VX gas, backpack nukes and dirty bombs, have been talked up. It's a way of preparing the public for the steps we have to take, without constantly mentioning the "A" word. Because, if we constantly mentioned the "A" word, pretty soon people would realize that the gaping hole in the New York skyline was put there by Saddam Hussein, and there's not a damn thing we can do about it. That's an epiphany the administration would like to put off until such time as we are rid of Saddam -- however long that might take.