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Author Bidwell, Christopher A., author

Title Use of attribution and forensic science in addressing biological weapon threats : a multi-faceted study / Christopher A. Bidwell, JD and Kishan Bhatt
Published Washington, DC : Federation of American Scientists, 2016
©2016

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Description 1 online resource (33 pages)
Series Special report / Federation of American Scientists
Special report (Federation of American Scientists)
Contents Executive summary. -- Introduction. -- The policy background. -- The challenge. -- The threat of biological and chemical weapons. -- The uniqueness of the BW threat. -- The many aspects of an attribution determination. -- The science aspect -- forensic science and microbial forensics. -- The legal aspect -- the underlying basis of policy. -- The policy aspect. -- The public health and law enforcement aspects. -- The media aspect. -- The communications aspect. -- The relationship between investigation, attribution, and deterrence disciplines. -- Common questions form the policy community. -- Final observations
Summary The threat from the manufacture, proliferation, and use of biological weapons (BW) is a high priority concern for the U.S. Government. One of the foundational elements of an attribution determination is the use of forensic science techniques, namely microbial forensics. Unfortunately, using forensic science in an attribution setting is not a pure scientific endeavor. It involves the interplay among science, law, policy, law enforcement, public health, and the media communities. This convergence of different disciplines and professions all focused on reaching a common understanding of a suspicious activity is a difficult problem to work through in a domestic context, and even more so if a suspected BW event has transnational or global implications. In such instances, acceptance of an attribution determination would be dependent on how the leadership in other nations processes and accepts information that would be generated, how they would perceive the nature and the source of that information, and how their decisions regarding a response would be made. Consequently, how the attribution determination is made, and more importantly, how it is presented to foreign leaders, is critical if an investment in the science behind forensics is to pay off. This applies not only to cases wherein the attribution determination points to a guilty person, organization, or country, but also in situations wherein false accusations must be discredited
Notes "A special report published by the Federation of American Scientists"--Cover
"February 2016"--Cover
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references
Notes Online resource; title from PDF cover page (FAS, viewed January 30, 2017)
Subject Biological weapons -- Analysis
Biological weapons -- Identification
Forensic genetics.
Microbial genetics.
Biological weapons -- Government policy -- United States
Bioterrorism -- Government policy -- United States
Genetics, Microbial
Biological weapons.
Biological weapons -- Government policy.
Forensic genetics.
Microbial genetics.
United States.
Genre/Form Field guides.
Form Electronic book
Author Bhatt, Kishan, author
Federation of American Scientists, publisher.