Biological weapons using gene tech are latest terror threat
GENEVA: The United States called on Wednesday for closer international cooperation to prevent terrorist groups from developing or using biological weapons, a threat it said was growing.
US secretary of state Hillary Clinton said countries must strengthen their ability to detect and respond to suspicious outbreaks of infectious disease that could be caused by pathogens falling into the wrong hands.
"Unfortunately the ability of terrorists and other nonstate actors to develop and use these weapons is growing. Therefore this must be a renewed focus of our efforts," she said in a speech in Geneva.
"Because there are warning signs and they are too serious to ignore." She said al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula had urged "brothers with degrees in microbiology or chemistry ... to develop a weapon of mass destruction". A crude but effective terrorist weapon can be made by using a sample of widely available pathogens, cheap equipment and "college-level chemistry and biology", she added.
States must do a better job of reporting on measures being taken to guard against the misuse of biological weapons and scientists should exchange views on threats, Clinton said. She was addressing a global conference to review the Biological Weapons Convention banning biological and toxin weapons, which has been ratified by 165 states.
She called for maximizing benefits of scientific research and minimizing the risks that it will be misused. There was a need to balance the need for scientific innovation with the need to guard against such risks, she said.
Biological weapons using gene tech are latest terror threat
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