As real as it sounds it is far less likely than a chem/bio threat to our population. We are currently in a lockdown for crop dusters and they are on a heightened alert. And even if they do achieve a laydown on a portion of our very large counrty it's likely it wouldn't affect a great segment of the population. Not to mention that infecting crops is long term attack and one that would take at least one season to affect.
Mad cow, hoof and mouth.
Stay away from the countryside (Foot and Mouth - the management of a pseudo-crisis.)
A checmial agent into a major water supply.
Cholera would be a good choice but you would need tons of the stuff to make it worth it and needless to say the days of Arab looking guys driving dump trucks in to headwaters or resevoirs is unlikely. Fish and Wildlife and BLM have been tasked to deal with it as we speak. And by the time it made it to your tap it would have been filtered and treated away.
How about Small Pox introducted into the air filtration system of a major airport...how quickly would that spread across the nation.
Hard to tell. While highly contagious it does have a lengthy incubation period. Be more afraid of chimera or recombinant agents which are combinations or cocktails of differant viruses like rhinovirus/smallpox/filovirus which would have a fast affect and stealthy symptoms which would set back diagnosis and thus affect health workers. Not to mention any combination being weaponized and as such no vaccine would work. The big question is how would these agents get introduced in to an airport these days?
I'm not saying it's possible but it's getting less possible with each passing day. And that has nothing to do with legislation but more to do with the awareness of the American people.
And by the way did you threaten Demidog in an email when you asked him his home address?
Granted, we are learning a lot and very quickly concerning the recent airliner attacks. But considering how bin Laden isolates one cell from the next, it is very reasonable to suspect that other avenues of attack would be completely independent of those we currently know of. We have no idea how long and what is already in this country.
However, we do know that they use electronic media for communications and the government is asking for the authority to be able to effectively intercept and monitor such communications.
"And by the way did you threaten Demidog in an email when you asked him his home address?"
I've never sent an e-mail to demidog.