Feb 06
Here I detail the two major pieces of biosecurity legislation up for consideration by Congress this year, S.1873, The Biodefense and Pandemic Vaccine and Drug Development Act of 2005 and S.1880, The National Biodefense and Pandemic Preparedness Act of 2005. They both address similar issues relating to the nation’s ability to develop countermeasures against emerging public health threats including bioterrorism agents and avian influenza. However, there are fairly significant differences between them. My understanding is that the Republicans and Democrats have not gotten together to discuss these two bills yet. Please feel free to get in touch with me directly if you have any questions. mstebbins@fas.org
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written by Michael Stebbins
Feb 06
Russia, along with twenty-seven of thiry-five member nations on the IAEA board, voted on Saturday to refer Iran to the Security Council due to concerns that its leaders want to develop nuclear weapons. Russia has long maintained an enigmatic relationship with Iran, sponsoring the construction of a civilian nuclear power plant at Bushehr, and offering to enrich uranium for Iran on Russian territory. Russia seems to be siding with the United States and Europe on preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, although Vice Premier and Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov has stated that the Bushehr project and Iranian nuclear weapons development are unrelated: http://www.tass.ru/eng/level2.html?NewsID=2952118&PageNum=0
A diplomatic solution to this problem should be pursued foremost; Russia may have a large and difficult role to play in this tricky endeavor.
written by afitzpatrick
