cow dies of anthrax it will bleed out its nose. All you have to do is scrape up a little blood-or even get spores from the soil or a carcass-put it in a petri dish, and you have anthrax. (Newsweek, 25).The problem for terrorists is that a petri dish or anthrax is not a weapon of mass destruction. Unless your goal is the assassination of a single individual, you need pounds and pounds of this pathogen. Anthrax spores must reach the lungs to do some damage. Making a powder is a hurdle for the bad guys, says retired Col. David Franz. Its very difficult to dry anthrax without killing it. The material also needs to be the perfect size. If its too large the material wont reach the lungs, too small will be exhaled right back out. Weaponizing germs is not a basement production. It requires expertise. Biological or chemical terrorism still seems highly improbable in the near term. The gas masks and Cipro bought in the aftermath of Sept. 11 may have long since deteriorated before such an attack becomes more likely than being struck by lightning. Biological terrorism is a problem for the long term, for the time when the memory of recent horrors has dulled. In short, this is a kind of threat that we are not very good at addressing. But in the new world created by the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, we would do well to be ready. (Newsweek, 29)....
