Description

The threat of a catastrophe from terrorist's use of a chemical or
biological weapon is increasing in probability in light of events such as the 1995 sarin nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway, disclosures regarding the former Soviet Union's sophisticated bioweapons program, and discoveries of Iraq's large-scale efforts to produce and weaponize biological agents. Public awareness about terrorism was certainly
heightened during the Y2K alerts and the arrests of Algerians linked to Osama bin Laden at the United States-Canadian border, but also may be a result of increasing public awareness through books, such as The Cobra Event and Biohazard; programs, such as ABC's "Biowar;" and media attention to non-state actors, such as Osama bin Laden.