Fascinating reading material if you’re a nerd like me:
Malefactors would have more trouble stealing or buying the classical agents of biological warfare than synthesizing new ones. In 2002, after all, a group of researchers built a functioning polio virus, using a genetic sequence off the Internet and mail-order oligonucleotides (machine-synthesized DNA molecules no longer than about 140 bases each) from commercial synthesis companies. At the time, the group leader, Eckard Wimmer of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, warned that the technology to synthesize the much larger genome of variola major — that is, the deadly smallpox virus — would come within 15 years. In fact, it arrived sooner: December 2004, with the announcement of a high-throughput DNA synthesizer that could reproduce smallpox’s 186,000-odd bases in 13 runs.
You don’t have to read the whole thing. What you should be cognizant of is the high likelihood that Islamic fundmentalists will harness recent and upcoming advances in biotech for evil purposes. They have clearly stated that they want biological weapons and will use them once they are acquired. Ignoring the threat is not an option, unless you are the type of person who wants the whole world to shrivel into itself like Afghanistan did under the Taliban.
CENTCOM is aware of the the threat. In the words of General John P. Abizaid:
Finally, and most important, this enemy seeks to develop or acquire weapons of mass destruction. If they could develop or acquire a chemical, biological, or nuclear device, they would use it. This is not a guess. This is what they say. Their willingness to use suicide means to deliver such a weapon heightens this threat. There should be no mistake about the stakes in this broader war against al Qaida. The enemy must be deprived of time, safe haven and resources to prevent development and use of mass-casualty producing devices.
Don’t take a general’s word for it though. No, don’t listen to an American commander who also happens to be of Lebanese heritage and fully fluent in Arabic. That would make way too much sense and we all know the U.S. military just wants the oil. Since you don’t trust our generals, get it from the proverbial horse’s mouth instead. In this case, the horse happens to be named Abu Musab al-Zarqawi:
Zarqawi’s exposition of Islamic theology as he sees it is most revealing. “There is no doubt,†he says, “that Allah commanded us to strike the Kuffar (unbelievers), kill them, and fight them by all means necessary to achieve the goal. The servants of Allah who perform Jihad to elevate the word (laws) of Allah, are permitted to use any and all means necessary to strike the active unbeliever combatants for the purpose of killing them, snatch their souls from their body, cleanse the earth from their abomination, and lift their trial and persecution of the servants of Allah. The goal must be pursued even if the means to accomplish it affect both the intended active fighters and unintended passive ones such as women, children and any other passive category specified by our jurisprudence.†He is arguing, in other words, that operations such as 9/11 are fully sanctioned by Islamic law.
And that holds true, he argues, even if Muslims are among the victims: “This permissibility extends to situations in which Muslims may get killed if they happen to be with or near the intended enemy, and if it is not possible to avoid hitting them or separate them from the intended Kafirs. Although spilling sacred Muslim blood is a grave offense, it is not only permissible but it is mandated in order to prevent more serious adversity from happening, stalling or abandoning Jihad that is. If one says that we must not allow the killing of Muslims under any circumstance, especially in light of modern war tactics, this means nothing except stalling or permanently abandoning Jihad. This will lead to handing over the land and people to the unbelievers who are full of hate for Islam and Muslims. The unbelievers will have a free hand to humiliate and persecute Islam and Muslims and Muslims will be forced to live by Kafir rules and be treated like slaves. Many Muslims will be pressured or forced to give up their religion, Islam will be altered, modified, and replaced with another form that will be totally different from that which was revealed to the one who was sent with the sword, peace and prayer be upon him.â€
Read the full article about “holy man” Zarqawi. His mentality and his memes closely match that of other prominent fundamental Islamists, including his mentor Osama bin Laden.
I know, I know. It’s all about the oil. This is an illegal war of agression. I’m a babykiller. I should die painfully. Blah blah blah. Some of you get it, and some of you never will. You’ll willfully choose to remain ignorant, clinging to your bad but famialiar memes like a 5-year-old hugging her favorite blanket. Your bad memes are dangerous. I would like you to surrender them peacefully. I promise to give you a new and better set of memes. Of course, some of you will have to be forced to surrender your security blanket, and you’ll kick and scream the whole way as we drag you into a world where people are allowed to practice different belief systems unmolested by one another.
But not all of you obfuscators, conspiracy theorists, anti-war protestors, pacifism or death practicioners and other security blanket people are going to be with us when Islamofascists join the ranks of neo-nazis as side show freaks on the global stage. Some of you are going to die of ricin in your soup or anthrax on your pillow. Some of you will perish from jet fuel baths or explosive packages. And if enough of us ignore the threat of violent Islamic fundementalism, perhaps you’ll lose a family member or two to a tailored virus that only attacks people with blue eyes or people with red hair or some other genetic marker people like Osama and Musab don’t carry.
I know, I know. I’m a baby killer racist Muslim hater who is just here in Iraq because I love American imperialism. Saddam Hussein was a nice man who never hurt anyone. Bioterror is total madness and no sane person would ever consider using it against YOU or your family! After all, YOU didn’t vote for Bush and you’ve been posting Photoshopped images of his face cloned onto a monkey’s head for several years now. Osama and Musab and their types will surely leave you alone.