[The Great Satan]

Intelligence sources think that if attacked, Saddam would unleash attackers armed with smallpox in the United States and Britain.

Well, anthrax really. But that threat is -- how shall I put it? -- a little too concrete. For now, anyway. The deconditioning will take a few more weeks. But aside from that calculated nuance, this is exactly what I've been telling everyone for the past six months. From the horse's mouth -- or rather, from the Vice-President of the United States.

[cicero's_son]

I think the likelihood of a smallpox attack is about as slim as an attack with weaponized killer bees.

First of all, it's not lethal enough. It's nasty, but it only kills ~30% in even the most virulent outbreak.

Second, the blowback potential is just too great. All we'd have to do is find a few infected folks and put them on airplanes to Damascus, Beirut, Cairo, Tripoli, Tehran, and Riyadh. And smallpox, unlike Anthrax, is not truly "assymetrical." A first world healthcare system is a hell of a lot better equipped to deal with it than a third world system.

I'm with you. Smallpox is code for anthrax.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the heads up!