The International Security Implications of Biological Warfare

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Massachusetts Institute of Technology

2004

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Biological weapons have become one of the key security issues of the twenty-first century.

1 Three factors that first emerged in the 1990s have contributed to this phenomenon. First,

revelations regarding the size, scope, and sophistication of the Soviet and Iraqi biological warfare

programs focused renewed attention on the proliferation of these weapons.

2 Second, the catastrophic terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and the anthrax letters sent to

media outlets and Senate ofŞces in the United States during the following month, demonstrated the

desire of terrorists to cause massive casualties and heightened concern over their ability to employ

biological weapons.

3 Third, significant advances in the life sciences have increased concerns about how the

biotechnology revolution could be exploited to develop new or improved biological weapons.

4 These trends suggest that there is a greater need than ever to answer several fundamental

questions about biological warfare: What is the nature of the threat? What are the potential strategic

consequences of the proliferation of biological weapons? How effective will traditional security

strategies such as deterrence and arms control be in containing this threat? How do answers to

these questions inform policies to reduce the danger of biological weapons?