The greatest threat to security both internationally and nationally other than terrorism and the effects of it, has got to be the spread of diseases. If a disease breaks out in a country and that country has trouble containing and/or fighting it then they could be in for some trouble. Countries bordering them will most likely shut down their borders and if the sickness becomes severe they may possibly militarize their borders as well.
For the country or countries that have this disease this would be horrible. Their government would lose credibility in the eyes of the world for not having adequate health care systems or clean water. Their government wouldn’t just lose credibility; they would lose control of their country if the international community didn’t step in and donate a vaccine or step in with peace keeping troops because there would most likely be looting on a massive scale.
Do you guys remember the swine-flu? It jump and make it to countries like the United States and China but thankfully it kind of died away, but it is still around though so get your flu shot. The swine-flu accomplished what any terrorist group would want to do kill a few, injure some and scare millions. It caused a good amount of panic across the world. I remember someone in China had the swine flu so the government shut down the hotel and locked down everyone in there until the guests were healthy, with Chinas massive population I’m surprised they didn’t have a massive outbreak.
We can't focus on preventing terrorist attacks if we are trying to contain a disease.
I agree that diseases do pose certain threat both internationally and nationally. However, one thing that must also be considered is how much is this issue being addressed. Diseases certainly do pose threat, but most nations maintain health system that are mostly successful in controlling these outbreaks. There are also many international organizations that tries to address this issue wherever it breaks out. Therefore, the question is, should disease be considered the most important threat despite the fact that it is already being addressed and that the threat is a potential one?
ReplyDeleteThe reality of a medical disease is it is containable. Even if we do not have the medicine or treatments yet in the medical community, we have developed very fluid methods of containing even terrible outbreaks of diseases like cholera and such. We often talk about this concept of "containment theory" when discussing other threats like communism in the past and terrorism in the present. However, theses are threats that truly can no be contained because they depend on human choice and will. The unpredictability of human agency trumps a methodical biological disease in terms of threat. I wonder if there are other threats that fit this category that would be more threatening than disease.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting post. While I'm not entirely sure that I agree with the spread of disease is the greatest security threat in the world, I believe two recent incidents have increased the risk of it.
ReplyDeleteFirst is the recent study that was released that indicates that the most effective strategy to combat malaria is to control rather than eradicate the disease. The study cites multiple reasons for this indicating that malaria has spread and "evolved" at rapid rates coupled with the lack of sufficient funds (yes, there have been millions of dollars spent to combat malaria, but understandably, more is needed for a complete elimination of malaria). This means that there is an increased risk of malaria affecting people, thus demanding a policy shift.
Additionally, I think when people consider the risk of disease, it's important to consider the risk of bioterrorism. Numerous studies and articles indicate that a bioterrorist attack is imminent (cites below). Bioterrorist pathogens are relatively easy to procure and can be scientifically generated to resist vaccines. If a pathogen is released to the population, the implications could be devastating. One quick note that I found interesting as well. Many proponents of the Health Care Bill cited that a strong health infrastructure would prepare the United States for a bioterrorist attack. While the full effects of the bill haven't been felt, maybe that potentially decreases the risk of the effects of a bioterrorist attack.
Regardless, great post.
Cites:
Malaria:
http://vaccinenewsdaily.com/news/219293-effort-to-control-malaria-may-be-more-effective-than-eradication
Bioterrorism:
Prevention of WMD Proliferation and Terrorism Report Card, An Assessment of the U.S. Government’s Progress in Protecting the United States from Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism, http://www.preventwmd.gov/publications/
STRATEGIC STUDY ON BIOTERRORISM, http://csis.org/files/media/csis/pubs/061016_bioterrorism.pdf"
Improving Federal Response to Catastrophic Bioterrorist Attacks: The Next Steps,” Heritage Foundation, November 13, http://www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2003/11/Improving-Federal-Response-to-Catastrophic-Bioterrorist-Attacks-The-Next-Steps#pgfId-1083840