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Defense Policy Board Chairman Richard Perle
discusses Iraq with host James P. Rubin.
 Watch the video Dial-up | DSL or read the transcript.
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Are Iraq's chemical and biological weapons attacks on Kurdistan part of a larger agenda of terror?
Is the United States prepared for this kind of threat? Find out in our briefing, by Madeline Drexler, author of "Secret Agents: The Menace of Emerging Infections."
Bio-Chemical Terror:
What If It Happens Here?
By Madeline Drexler
July 11, 2002
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Mustard gas. Nerve agents. Anthrax spores. Botulinum toxin.
During the 1980s, Saddam Hussein's Iraqi regime used some of these deadly agents in its war with Iran and against its own Kurdish civilians. While it is uncertain that Iraq could launch such attacks today, other nations -- including Iran, Syria, North Korea, Russia, and China -- are believed to possess large stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons.
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| 1979 |
Saddam Hussein becomes Iraqi president.
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| 1980 |
Eight-year Iran-Iraq war begins.
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| 1987 |
First chemical attacks on Kurds.
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| 1991 |
Gulf War follows Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.
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| 1998 |
UN withdraws weapons inspectors.
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| 2003 |
U.S. and British forces invade Iraq.
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Now the question is: Would the United States withstand a large-scale assault with such deadly agents?
If the anthrax attacks of 2001 are any gauge, the answer isn't encouraging. With only 22 infections, that incident was, compared to what could have happened, a very minor outbreak. Yet our public health system was pushed to the brink. If those precision-manufactured spores had been spread, not through the mail (a clumsy means of delivery), but through the ventilation system of a building, thousands could have succumbed.
Read More 
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Inside This Episode
 Witness the legacy of Saddam's weapons in our Photo Essay.
Plot Saddam's response to the Kurdish "problem" in our Interactive Map.
Discover the power of chemical and biological weapons in our Info-Graphic.
Having failed to destroy Iraqi weapons used on Kurds, the U.S. may face a chemical threat.
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Should countries develop chemical and biological weapons for defensive purposes? Debate the issue!
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