what would be the impact of bioterrorism?

Answer 1

Mass panic. But the target countries are really so large that it would have very little real impact in terms of numbers of people harmed and property damage. The trouble is that panic could paralyze a country and disrupt its economy and its political process.

Bioterrorism isn't really so easy to accomplish. 9/11 happened because of luck, bad government (competition and incompetence in intelligence), and institutional weaknesses.

Answer 2

Bio-weapons are hard to make, but fairly easy to deliver. A terrorist attack with a bio-weapon inside the USA would probably limited to one city. Due to the standing health departments in every state, the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta and US medical care in general, it is unlikely it would spread much beyond that city. I seriously doubt if the terrorists have the capability of making a major attack, so I would expect fatalities in the hundreds at the most and the over all impact on the USA would be minimal.

I would also not worry about a chemical attack for the same reasons.

I DO worry about a nuclear attack. That would generate casualties in the hundreds of thousands, make the city unlivable, spread fallout downwind for hundreds of miles, probably disrupt transport ion for years. And it would really make the Americans mad. If 911 generated the response it has, imagine the reaction of the USA if a nuke went off in NYC or some other major city.

Answer 3

Apart from a lot of dead people, the immediate question is one of response. Against whom and how do you respond? Is this a mass casualty event? Assuming there's an identifiable state (like North Korea) that sponsored it, and a military response is called for, do you use overwhelming force, targeted strikes, or even small yield tactical nuclear strikes? What are the repercussions for us of those options? Could we incur futher bioterrorist strikes?

Impacts on the target area would depend on the yield of the weapon, the bio agent used, the population of the area, and even the weather. Fiscal imapct would depend again on the yield of the weapon and location of the strike.

If it isn't a state sponsored event but is one caused by a terrorist organization, the problem becomes harder. Who do you strike against? How do you locate them? Remember: We STILL haven't found bin Laden.

Answer 4

A shitload of dead people

Answer 5

Lots of death