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“A government panel is warning at this hour that the U.S is not ready for a terror attack using weapons of mass destruction.” (FOX News)
The bi-partisan Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism gave the White House an ‘F’ for its’ preparedness against a bio-terror attack.
We’re looking at reactions from FOX News, MSNBC, The Huffington Post and the Washington Post.
FOX News uses the commission’s example of the slow response to H1N1 to emphasize the warning in the report.
“Bottom line: this group says the United States is not prepared for a biological weapons attack. The experts are saying that based on response to the H1N1 flu virus they are not convinced the U.S government is prepared for something more severe.”
MSNBC talks with former Sen. Bob Graham, who chairs the commission, about the broader message that the report is trying to send.
“It’s not just an F for the Obama administration, we’ve had two or three administrations which have been slow off the mark to recognize the bio threat. It’s not just a Washington problem, it’s a state, and local and citizen problem as well as the federal government.”
The Huffington Post points out that the Obama administration did actively respond to the last report the commission released.
“In 2008, the WMD [report] was also critical of the government's ability to prepare and respond to a biological attack. The government did respond to that and developed a plan to prevent the illegal spread of biological weapons, such as anthrax. Obama rolled out that plan in November.”
The Washington Post writes there were some good marks in the report. Regardless of how Obama or any previous administrations have addressed the threat, it remains obvious that action must be taken now to protect the American people.
"A separate study warned that al-Qaeda had not abandoned its ambition to use weapons of mass destruction against Western targets. The report ... portrays al-Qaeda's leaders as determined and patient, willing to wait for years to acquire the kind of weapons that could inflict widespread casualties."
Obama is expected to unveil a new plan for bioterrorism threats in the State of the Union Address on Wednesday.
So how severe is this threat? What do you think Obama needs to do to protect us from biological weapons?