This project investigates the history of the counterbioterrorism policies pursued by the Federal Government Administration 2001-2008. The study will address several major dimensions of this history. It will address how counterbioterrorism policies were crafted and by whom through an examination of the roles played by government departments and agencies, national security advisers, science advisers, members of Congress, and leaders of biotechnology, pharmaceutical, science, and policy organizations, and the media. It will also address the assumptions and values that influenced the substantial rise in the support for counterbioterrorism activities, including research and development. In addition, it will address governmental responses to criticism of specific policies from scientists, public health specialists, and arms control advocates. Finally, it will address the relation of counterbioterrorism goals to more general geopolitical and military policies of the administration.
Intellectual Merit The methods of the study are historical. The project draws on a wide variety of sources, including government documents, Congressional hearings, policy papers, memoirs, conference records, and media materials. The project also uses detailed interviews with those who played primary roles in policy developments, including members of the Bush administration; senior staff members of relevant Congressional committees; and members of scientific, industry, and security policy organizations engaged in this area.
Potential Broader Impacts The study is important for the understanding it will generate of a major U.S. defense policy, the issues that arose as it evolved, and how these issues were addressed inside and outside the government. The issues addressed in the study are of special relevance for the future development of biomedical research and biotechnology. They relate to questions of scientific freedom and responsibility, secrecy in research, ethical treatment of human subjects, and the constraints of international arms control agreements. Additional broader significance of the study will result from the increased understanding it will bring to an important security policy and the conditions under which scientific knowledge is enlisted for pursuing policy goals.
