Morse said inspections of Iraqi facilities and other intelligence indicated that Iraq produced botulinum toxins, anthrax, aflatoxin and small amounts of biological agents such as ricin, mycotoxins, rotavirus and agents to attack crops. Morse used viewgraphs to illustrate other examples of rogue state or terrorist attacks using chemical or biological weapons, including the Japanese subway incident in the mid 1990s. Closer to home, Morse said the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 is another example of a terrorist group attack. Agencies that work to prevent or thwart terrorist attacks need biological detection technologies and sensors that are reliable, accurate, cost-effective, portable and can be left unattended, Morse said. He noted technologies that often result in false alarms don't help elected officials, scientists, doctors and others who have to respond to real emergencies.
Hoaxes can often cause as much disruption . . .
He cited a 1997 incident in Washington, D.C, in which an anthrax-like substance was delivered to the Jewish B'nai B'rith organization. The substance turned out to be jello, Morse said. But it resulted in hundreds of employees of the organization being subjected to lengthy decontamination procedures. Morse said biological attacks against the United States could have devastating psychological consequences as well as actual casualities. His agency, and others, have lists of a number of known biological agents.