HOMELAND SECURITY Bioterrorism as a National Security Threat: A suggested model
COVID-19 has increased awareness of pandemics and biosecurity hazards as national security threats. Israel’s Ambassador to New Zealand, Dr Itzhak Gerberg, suggests it’s also time to counter the spectre of bioterrorism.
Dr Itzhak Gerberg is Israel’s Ambassador to New Zealand. He has held Ambassadorial positions to Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia, Botswana and Georgia, with prior postings to the Philippines, India and China.
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The concept of national security changed after 11 September 2001, transforming into something more comprehensive. This broader ranging concept is reflected in the definition of national security adopted at this year’s Munich Security Conference “which encompasses not only traditional national or military security, but also takes into account the economic, environmental, and human dimensions of security.” Possessing parallels with New Zealand’s “all hazards – all risks” approach to national security, such definitions include ‘non-traditional’ security issues, such as environmental and biological hazards. Dr William Hoverd of Massey University’s Centre for Defence and Security Studies refers to biosecurity as a current major concern that looms large as a future non-traditional issue. Just last July, New Zealand Defence Minister Hon Ron Mark was quoted by the New Zealand Herald as commenting “defence has been considering the changing impact of biological hazards and threats on New Zealand’s security.” Despite the resemblance, there are definitional distinctions between ‘biosecurity’, ‘biosafety’ and ‘biocrime’. In essence, biosecurity deals with bio-threats in general, including bioterrorism, whereas biosafety refers to pandemics, such as COVID-19. Biocrime refers to criminal action conducted using biological agents.
COVID-19 has certainly increased awareness of bioterrorism as a potential national security threat. In terms of non-conventional security threats, however, bioterror gets less attention in comparison to other types of terror; due probably to the complexity of producing biological weapons as well as the difficulty in using them. Bioterrorism is defined by William C. Shiel Jr. as: “terrorism using biological agents that are harmful to humans”. It is characterized by the tactical surprise, strong initial impact and imposition of anxiety and fear usually associated with terrorism, but achieved via a pandemic, which is evasive in nature and causes massive disruption. For the purposes of this article, I define bioterrorism as the intentional release or dissemination of biological agents (such as bacteria, viruses, insects, fungi or toxins) that can sicken or kill people, livestock and crops and/or biologically pollute the environment. It was Bill Gates who commented at the 2017 Munich Security Conference that “bioterrorism could kill more than nuclear war – but no one is ready to deal with it.” Bioterrorism is indeed in need of special attention as a threat to national security, partly because it is different to other types of terror in the following ways: Line of Defence
