Dear Editor:
Our national director of homeland security has been on television quite frequently warning us about unspecified potential acts of terrorism to be directed at the American public. No doubt the director has good reasons for not revealing the exact nature of the threats (possibly for fear that his sources will be compromised).
Still, we cannot be adequately prepared unless we have more specified information about the threats (about which we – and the police authorities – probably can do nothing) which prompt a “high alert”. Some of the areas in which we may have SOME control would seem to be:
- Attacks on restaurants and other places where Americans assemble (but, of course, the authorities have, de facto, disarmed us by refusing handgun carry permits);
- Use of so-called “dirty” bombs. These have been described in general terms, as nuclear devices which kill by spreading radiation over a wide area (a Russian scientist says that taking potassium iodine within the first four hours of contamination could protect most, but, of course, we are not allowed to possess potassium iodine);
- Kidnapping busloads of our schoolchildren (again, we are de facto disarmed);
- Contaminating white powder cocaine with white powder anthrax (which probably is already underway in Afghanistan where poppy production is soaring). The simple solution here is either a) have the pharmaceutical industry control the production of pure cocaine; or for users to stop its use (if they do not, the airborne anthrax will bring about the halt of use in cocaine);
- Contaminating cigarettes and marijuana with brown powder anthrax (see item 4 for the possible solution).
It seems more and more that survival into the year 2002 is very iffy.
Frank X. Landrigan