Foreign Policy (FP) published an exclusive report on August 28th regarding the contents of a laptop captured in Syria from a Tunisian ISIS jihadi, “Mohammed S”, “Found: The Islamic States Terror Laptop of Doom.” Among the files on the laptop’s hard drive was a 19 page document allegedly providing details on plans to weaponize bubonic plague and use it as a mass casualty weapon. We contacted noted Bio-Warfare (BW) expert, Dr. Jill Bellamy to address the issues raised by the FP account. Our concerns were whether the Islamic State (IS), formerly ISIS, might have overrun Syrian BW research and dual-use pathogenic production facilities. Further, has IS, like Hezbollah and Al Qaeda, established a WMD directorate, and do they have the means of producing one or more of the so-called ‘Black Six’ pathogens[? See our 2007 and 2013 New English Review (NER) interviews with Dr. Bellamy on the Syrian BW Threat and Dr. Bellamy’s, The Biological Warfare Blog: Black Six. Bellamy conveyed the following observations: While IS’ alleged BW threat is provocative, given its financial resources, the reality is that both Al Qaeda (AQ) and Hezbollah have established credible BW programs, while IS’ capability is still unknown. Hezbollah’s programs are coordinated with both Syrian and Iranian BW programs, whose BW laboratories have successfully developed advanced synthetic pathogens that Western threat reduction agencies may not have the means of detecting. The likely priority targets in the latter cases might be the Jewish communities, particularly in Europe, according to Bellamy. She views as formidable Israel’s highly credible BW threat reduction capabilities, which she says are superior to anywhere else in the world.The greatest threat, according to Bellamy, is in the manufacture of synthetic BWs, for which there are few developed antidotes. In recent years, large strides have been made in biotechnology and genetic engineering that can facilitate the modification of BW agents to increase their toxicity, transmission, and lethality. > Jerry Gordon
Posted on: Fri, 05 Sep 2014 02:27:03 +0000
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