[templar]

IMO, if anyone wanted to truly damage an enemy long term, they would go after it's agriculture. Something which is best accomplished by biological agents.

OTOH, terrorism doesn't require a great deal of real damage to accomplish it's purpose, just a feeling of vulnerability and helplesness on the part of the public.

[Lessismore]

In recent years there have been strenuous efforts to contain outbreaks of foreign pests including the Mediteranean Fruit Fly, the Long-Horned Beetle, and a variety of rust that attacks wheat. The fruit fly, in particular, has had a very high dollar tag associated with it.

[Calvinist_Dark_Lord]

IMO, if anyone wanted to truly damage an enemy long term, they would go after it's agriculture. Something which is best accomplished by biological agents.

i believe that you are quite correct. Look at what Hoof and Mouth disease did in Britian and Ulster a couple of years ago.

It would be simple to spread in the US. Crop duster airplains would do quite well. Realise that most of the grain in this country actually goes to feed meat, poultry, and dairy animals, a food crisis of apocalyptic proportions could easily be precipitated. The terror is that it could not be detected until it was far too late, and a great many animals and crops would have to be destroyed. Decontaminating from Hoof and Mouth under natural transmission is a difficult and involved process. What would a deliberate attack involve in terms of decontamination resources?

So, just why were those Middle Eastern Islamics interested in crop dusters last year?

[tiki]

As a farmer I think it would be hard to infect a crop without spraying with a crop duster and more than likely I'd see or hear any plane that sprayed my crops and I know all the crop dusting planes in my area. It would have to be something that didn't kill immediately because even if someone managed to spray my crops, the crops would still have to be harvested and handled and if farmers were dying they'd try to find out why and the stuff would never reach the market. It would also kill birds and animals and I'd be trying to find out why they were dying if it didn't get me first. I might not have thought this through and if anyone thinks otherwise I'd be glad to hear your opinions.