The Daily Gamecock

Issue date: 12/3/08 Section: Viewpoints

Darren Price Third-year English Student

According to a recent Congressional Commission report, there is a pretty good chance that you or someone you know will suffer from a biological terror attack in the next five years.

In fact, the odds are better than even.

The report, obtained by the Washington Post, claims a terrorist attack involving biological weapons is likely to occur by 2013 The report also claims that the next terrorist attack on the U.S. will originate in the Pakistani tribal areas.

It even went as far as to say the odds are better than ever for a biological terror attack, and former Sen. Bob Graham said the attack will have consequences 10 times that of 9/11 and cited the flu virus of 1918 that killed between 20 and 40 million people.

The report issues some suggestions to the incoming administration to prevent such an attack, this is true, but if the odds for millions of Americans dying of some unknown illness are "better than ever," why not bypass tightening security measures and go straight to preparing containment wards and mass graves?

The congressional panel's report is an act of terror in itself and accomplishes little else. The idea of a biological attack, as reported, seems to be nothing more than the speculation of a few men in powerful positions with little else to do. Anyone could say that a biological attack is more likely to occur than a nuclear one - after all, it takes more time and knowledge to mature uranium and plutonium than it does to find a diseased person and release them into society. As far as speculating where the next attack will come from, it is constantly stated that Pakistan is highly volatile and likely to contain terrorist organizations, so stating that it is likely that a terrorist attack will originate from there is like saying that someone's groceries come from the grocery store.

If the report's claims come to fruition and 2013 does see a biological attack, it is more likely that the idea came from this very report. I mean, with the U.S. government constantly telling the world as to how they will be attacked next, why even bother designing some plot of your own? Aspiring terrorists must be thrilled - all they have to do is flip on CNN to find out what to do. After all, seemingly every major holiday sees the "terror warning level" go up with reports of cruise boat bombing threats or whatever the federal government decides the terrorist flavor of the week is. Such reports are so vague that they do little more than make Americans believe that the terrorists are always just minutes away from attacking their living room.

What these commissions should do instead of speculation and ominous prophecies that scare Joe Schmoe and his children into thinking that they are going to catch Spanish flu, Multiple Strain Resistant Tuberculosis or some unknown malady, they should make genuine efforts on improving safety. Instead of saying "this is going to happen," to the American public, go to the biotech labs, research centers and disease control agencies and expose their security lapses. Don't merely claim that a breach is inevitable.

Hopefully this commission will be effective in tightening security and preventing a 2013 attack. In the future, perhaps such commissions will be able to do so without garnering doomsday headlines and causing potential panic. Until they do, they are just as guilty of terrorism as Osama Bin Laden.

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