22 May 1998: Link to White House anti-terrorism initiative

21 May 1998

    From: "Paul M. Maniscalco" <paulm.maniscalco@worldnet.att.net>
    To: TERRORISM@mediccom.org
    Subject: US to Order Antibiotics for Bio-Terrorism
    Date: Thu, 21 May 1998 11:21:38 -0400

    By TERENCE HUNT
    AP White House Correspondent

        WASHINGTON (AP) -- Warning of the dangers of terrorism, President
    Clinton will order the stockpiling of antibiotics and vaccines for
    civilian protection in the event of biological warfare, a senior
    administration official said Wednesday.

        Clinton will announce the order in a commencement speech Friday at
    the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.

        The main focus of the address will be about domestic threats such as
    biological weapons, terrorism and possible penetration of the Internet,
    said the official, insisting on anonymity.

        He said Clinton will direct that adequate resources be maintained
    for civilians in case of germ warfare.

        Smallpox and anthrax are considered among the biggest potential
    biological weapon threats in the United States. Both diseases incubate
    for several days to weeks, making it hard to spot an outbreak even if
    doctors recognized early symptoms, which can mimic the flu.

        Anthrax is treatable only when caught early and only the military
    has a vaccine now. Americans are not vaccinated against smallpox anymore
    but about 8 million vaccine doses are stockpiled.

        Attorney General Janet Reno and FBI Director Louis J. Freeh told
    Congress last month that U.S. cities and towns remain vulnerable to
    chemical and biological terrorism despite recent efforts to improve
    protections.

        "We need to make sure we have a significant stockpile -- and I don't
    think we do -- of vaccines and other medications," Reno told members of
    the Senate intelligence and judiciary committees.

        Freeh said an anthrax scare last February in Las Vegas served as a
    "dress rehearsal" that taught some important lessons. Two men were
    arrested Feb. 18 on suspicion of having deadly weapons-grade anthrax. The
    charges were dropped five days later when the material was found to be a
    veterinary vaccine.

        An administration review of how the United States would respond to a
    biological or chemical weapon attack from terrorists has been under way
    for about a year.

        Concern swelled among U.S. officials in March 1995, when a Japanese
    cult carried out a lethal nerve gas attack on the subway in Tokyo, killing
    12 and injuring 5,000. Later that year, Iraq admitted having built a large
    arsenal of biological weapons -- and had been ready to use it four
    years earlier during the Gulf War.