[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.

[realpatriot71]

I concur. Developed countries would have the dz quarantined as soon as it showed up minimalizing the damage. However, smallpox has the real possiblity of killing many in 3rd world countries (the same countries that would be for such an attack) without the same modern medical services we have in the US, Canada, and Europe. Terrorists would be plain stupid to use a smallpox attack.

[Gritty]

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

If you haven't read it, I urge you to read the link in Post #3.

[The Great Satan]

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

Announcing a vaccination program for smallpox is great way to get people mentally prepared for the next step. If you watch the way the news reports are developing, the story is coming together from both ends -- here we see Cheney has layed out Saddam's biological deterrent strategy, meanwhile they're gradually "uncloaking" the real story on last years' anthrax threats. Pretty soon, things are going to meet in the middle. This has been a masterful manipulation of public perceptions, IMO, and fully justified under the circumstances.