Biological Weapons: An Overview of Threats and Responses

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the existence, nature and scope of the biological weapons (BW) problem, and to examine critically the range of possible solutions. BW are too often absorbed into the cover-all term ‘weapons of mass destruction’ (WMD) alongside chemical and nuclear weapons. This paper instead emphasises the technical uniqueness of BW as living weapons intended for use against living targets. A failure by policymakers to distinguish adequately between the three ‘WMD’ categories will lead to flawed response strategies. BW are dreaded as instruments of state coercion and terrorist intimidation, and a range of responses have been proposed to address these threats. Military responses include deterrence of BW use by threat of nuclear attack, the use of force to destroy BW assets, and defensive biological warfare programs. Detection devices and other forms of technical and human intelligence can potentially provide warnings of illicit BW production and dissemination. Medical responses to the BW threat include improved disease surveillance networks and strengthened public health system capabilities. Lastly, the BW problem can be tackled legally through domestic law enforcement and the Biological Weapons Convention.