BioIntel: Leveraging Information to Prevent Biological Weapons Attacks

Abstract

Identifying and assessing biological weapons (“BW”) programs has been a fatal flaw in the United States defense posture since the Cold War. From the time when the Berlin Wall was torn down and the technology used to build BW proliferated worldwide, the BW threat has become more immediate, however the ability to identify hostile BW programs and assess their capabilities has received little attention. This paper seeks to identify ways to leverage information that might prevent a BW attack on the United States. It begins by looking at historical trends in the failure to assess, continues with a brief analysis of the intelligence collection cycle, and then looks to tailor the cycle to meet this unique threat.