4 September 2001
Source:
http://usinfo.state.gov/cgi-bin/washfile/display.pl?p=/products/washfile/latest&f=01090401.plt&t=/products/washfile/newsitem.shtml
This statement was probably issued in response to a New York Times front page story today on secret US biological warfare research:
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/04/international/04GERM.html
US Department of State
International Information Programs
Washington File
_________________________________
04 September 2001
(U.S. is meeting biological treaty obligations, official says) (450)
The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) is studying the feasibility
of developing a new modified strain of anthrax to determine its
potential threat to the U.S. armed forces and the American people,
says Victoria Clarke, assistant secretary of defense for public
affairs.
In all instances, the United States has been in compliance with the
1972 Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), the Pentagon spokeswoman
said. The United States, which unilaterally renounced use of
biological and toxin weapons in 1969, is a signatory to the BWC and
has ratified the treaty.
"This administration has made clear: one of its priorities is to work
against the threat of biological warfare," Clarke said at a September
4 Defense Department briefing.
The purpose of the anthrax research is to ensure that the United
States possess an effective vaccine in the event a biological weapon
is used against U.S. armed forces, she said.
She said that in 1997 a professional scientific journal, "Vaccine,"
reported on a modified anthrax strain that the Russians were
developing. The United States has a vaccine against most known strains
of anthrax, but became concerned by the article and wanted to be
prepared for any potential surprises, she said.
In the early part of this year the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)
started "to look into the feasibility -- in doing all the legal
consultations ... to look into how we could develop that modified
anthrax strain so we could test our vaccines against it," Clarke said.
However, she said there is no work going on now on the modified
anthrax vaccine. The BWC treaty does provide for some testing of a
defensive nature, she said.
"We've said pretty consistently that we're very concerned about the
threat of offensive biological weapons -- of the proliferation of
materials and technology that could enhance the proliferation of
chemical and biological warfare," she said.
"All of the work is consistent with U.S. treaty obligations. All of
the work is thoroughly briefed and [has] gone through a heavy
consultation process, both interagency and the appropriate legal
reviews and the appropriate congressional briefings," she said.
At a research facility in Nevada, the Pentagon wanted to determine how
easy it would be to obtain available materials commercially to make
biological weapons, but the facility tested only simulants -- which
are benign substances with characteristics similar to germs used in
weapons, she said. The research facility did not build biological
weapons, she said.
(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)