Obama administration emphasizes prevention in bioterrorism strategy
Experts say that the Obama administration’s approach to combating bioterrorism differs from that of the Bush administration; Bush emphasize crisis management — the ability to detect a biological event in process and to reduce its scope; prevention emphasizes actions that could be taken to stop an attack before it occurs
A research expert says a recent meeting between scientists, researchers, and the Obama administration indicates the administration has chosen a preventive strategy to combat the threat of bioterrorism, Global Security Newswire (GSN) reports. The news comes after a mid-August meeting that brought together the nongovernmental scientists and researchers to discuss biothreats, bioterrorism strategy, and the Biological Weapons Convention.
Matthew Harwood reports that one expert that attended the meeting, Brian Finlay, a biological weapons expert at the Henry L. Stimson Center, a nonpartisan Washington, D.C.-based think tank, told GSN that the Obama administration’s emphasis on prevention differs from the previous administration, as does its open-mindedness to strengthening international law regarding biological weapons, another anonymous international analyst said.
“The focus of the conversation was on the prevention of biothreats, so I believe that is their general strategy,” according to the research expert. The White House “may have an expansive definition, but their emphasis was on prevention instead of crisis management.”
Crisis management, which was emphasized by the Bush administration, is generally defined as the ability to detect a biological event in process and to reduce its scope. Prevention emphasizes actions that could be taken to stop an attack before it occurs.
There was a general sense that the meeting was important outreach to the nongovernment community, the analyst said.
“The last eight years have been sort of tough” as the Bush administration rejected a draft protocol for the Biological Weapons Convention, leading to the collapse of an effort to strengthen the treaty with formal compliance measures, he said. “It’s good that we have open avenues to discuss now.”
Finlay, however, said that it does not look like the Obama administration has a clear policy direction for biological threats and explained that the administration’s goals were not discussed during the meeting. The meeting with the nongovernmental community was the first of many, “designed to open the door for a longer discussion,” he said.
