BETRAYAL OF TRUST Part 5

The next section of BETRAYAL OF TRUST:
The Collapse of Global Public
Health by Laurie Garrett is one I have (hardly)
any quarrel with -- it's on the prospect of
bioterrorism, something that's more terrifying
than nuclear terrorism.

A terrorist who sets off a nuclear bomb could
destroy a city and hundreds of thousands of
people. The risk to people outside the immediate
area would be limited to an increase in
radiation exposure.

But a terrorist who unleashes smallpox back onto
the world, especially a strain that's been
genetically manipulated, could wipe out most of
humanity around the entire globe.

She gives another perspective on the Soviet
Union's bioterror program and updates U.S.
government actions since the book I read
a few weeks ago and reviewed earlier --
GERMS.

My only argument is that at the end she promotes
the viewpoint of public health that confidentiality
should be protected and criticizes the notion that
the military be used to impose a quarantine or
martial law.

First, she is neglecting the probably that people
would create many more problems -- including public
health problems for other people -- if allowed to
take advantage of an emergency situation.

We saw this recently in New Orleans, when gangs
took advantage of the flooding to rape and kill.
And many people took advantage of the opportunity
to loot.

Liberals weren't afraid of the President using
the Army in that situation -- they criticized him
for not doing so immediately, even when he had
no constitutional authority to do so.

Also, although she describes the mindset of law
enforcement and the military to use the site of
a germ warfare attack as evidence rather than
the beginning of managing an epidemic -- it
seems to me that catching and retaliating against
bio-terrorists is a public health service.

That is, if someone releases anthrax in one place
tomorrow and they're not caught, they may release
a 1000 times as much next month.

Still, we agree that the U.S. and all civilized
countries should strengthen their capacity to
protect themselves from bioterrorism.