Top Interpol Official Warns of Bioterror Attacks

From Gulfnews.com:

"Muscat: A top Interpol officer yesterday said that law enforcement agencies around the world should be prepared for a bioterrorist attack.

"Al Qaida could use chemical or biological weapons to perpetrate its terrorist actions," said Ronald K. Noble, Interpol Secretary General, to Gulf News on the sidelines of the Interpol Workshop on Preventing Bioterrorism, at a hotel here.

He said that the training material recovered from Al Qaida and information gathered from some of their captured operatives have convinced the world law enforcement community that the terrorist outfit has had plans to use chemical and biological weapons in their actions.

"Nobody really knows when Al Qaida will strike with chemical or biological weapons but it is just a matter of time before the terrorists believe they are ready," he said, adding that the only restraints the terrorists were facing was the technical complexity of operating them properly and effectively.

Justifying the fears of bioterrorism, Noble said: "In Iraq there have been no fewer than three chlorine bomb attacks, targeting innocent civilians, in the recent past. It is not difficult to imagine these attacks being extended from chemical to biological."

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The Interpol, of course, having much more of a reputation to uphold than pretty much any other intelligence agency besides maybe Mossad, coming out with a warning about bioterror should carry some weight.

I know the rabid left (and I am not implicating all leftist or social democratic parties or people here!) like to believe that all terrorist warnings are fictions of the Bush administration, but I think Interpol is just a tad bit removed from US politicking.

I imagine Al Queda bioterror attacks will be largely simplistic in nature - infecting water supplies and crops and such Either that or they will be fairly harmless but big and showy, which is always the terrorist's preference...

You only need a small amount of anthrax in a powder substrate to give the desired effect, I can an imagine an IUD exploding in a crowded market, only no big explosion, just a bunch of white powder everywhere. I think 1 part per 1000 anthrax to baking powder or whatever will certainly make a few people sick.

I hereby coin the term "powder bomb." You saw it in print here first, folks!