"Candidly Yours"

September 24, 2001

No, I Don't Want to Die
by Linda A. Prussen-Razzano

Several years ago, I had the occasion to meet and talk with a member of the FBI’s International Terrorism Task Force. I was friends with a few federal police officers, so their social gatherings inevitably included individuals entrenched in the FBI and other branches of law enforcement. While the details of our conversation will not be made public, the information I obtained during our conversation, and during other conversations with trusted friends, reinvigorated my desire to learn as much as possible about threats to our national security.

Thus, when the shattering events of September 11 unfolded before the nation’s eyes, I was horrified, but not particularly surprised. In the back of my mind was the awareness, the potential, for this level of devastation to occur; however, since I am not psychic, I could never determine where, or in what form, the attack would materialize. You see, the level of comfort most people enjoyed until September 11 was already shaken for me several years ago…when I realized that the monsters were not skulking about in some distant country, but here, active, in our own shores.

Two things should be strikingly obvious to anyone with even a smattering of knowledge on terrorist activities: this wasn’t the first attack against American territory, and it most certainly will not be the last. The peaceniks preaching love need to buy a clue; for over 20 years, we tried peace. It didn’t work. The ninnies who are already twisting their knickers over the possibility of a retaliatory strike should unbind said garments and face reality: whether we launch a retaliatory strike or not, the terrorist attacks will continue. Deal with it. Accept it. Wrap your mind around it because it will happen.

We have two choices: either sit back like ready victims or fight this evil everywhere, in any way, we can. We don’t stop murderers and rapists by cringing in fear and praying they will cease their brutality; we hunt them down and bring them to justice. If we don’t stop them, nothing else will.

Further, the ninnies really do need to stop blaming superfluous silliness as the source for these attacks. This has nothing to do with the Kyoto Treaty, the Racial Conference, or any other global agreement. In any given year, there are over 100 terrorist attacks across the globe. Lest the Bush bashers forget, the first attempt on the World Trade Towers occurred in 1993, during President Clinton’s stint in the White House, long before President Bush was a figure on the political landscape. Only an act of Divine Goodness prevented that bomb from wreaking the kind of damage we saw several days ago, so deal with it. Accept it. Wrap your mind around it.

But I digress…

Last weekend, my husband and I engaged in a conversation not meant for children. We talked, candidly and painfully, about the terrorists’ next course of action. In near simultaneous agreement, we both voiced our concerns about biological weapons. They are insidious, effective, undetectable in aerosol form, and will increase the body count exponentially. We already know that in 1997 and 1998, China was supplying anhydrous hydrogen fluoride (AHF), or hydrofluoric acid (a precursor for the chemical weapon agent Sarin) to Iran and other countries. Inactive Anthrax spores have been recovered in the United States. Our country’s ability to respond to a biological or chemical weapons agent is severely limited.

According to the Johns Hopkins University Center for Civilian Biodefense Studies, the top five (5) biological threats are Anthrax, Plague, Smallpox, Tularemia, and Botulinum Toxin.

In the case of Anthrax, symptoms occur usually 2 days after exposure, although some cases have been reported several weeks after exposure. Patients usually die 1-3 days later. Initial symptoms include a high fever and cough. Treatment must begin before symptoms appear; if not, the mortality rate can reach as high as 90%.

In the case of Plague, symptoms can occur 1 to 6 days after exposure. It can be treated and contained. If treated, the mortality rate is less than 5%. If untreated, the mortality rate reaches 100%.

Smallpox is considered the most effective of all biological weapons. The incubation period can range up to 2 weeks and is easily transmitted from person to person. The symptoms include headache, backache, high fever, and can include abdominal pain and delirium. It has a mortality rate of 30%. At one point, individuals were vaccinated against Smallpox; however, these vaccinations ceased after 1980 (due to the apparent eradication of naturally occurring Smallpox) and a person’s immunity to it will now be severely impaired (even if they were vaccinated).

While no cases of person to person infection of Tularemia are noted, it can be absorbed through eating infected meat, handling exposed surfaces, or through direct inhalation of spores. Tularemia is considered the most infectious, requiring the least amount of exposure before contamination occurs. The incubation range is anywhere from 1 to 14 days, with symptoms generally appearing 3 to 5 days after exposure. The symptoms include unexplained febrile seizures (convulsions or shaking not necessarily accompanied by a fever). The mortality rate can range from 30% to 60% of all those exposed.

Johns Hopkins considers Botulinum Toxin "the single most poisonous substance known." While mortality rates were not provided, the level of prolonged care for recovering victims would ensure that many die due to lack of necessary equipment, particularly artificial respirators.

After reviewing the pertinent facts on the top five known biological threats, we drew up an action plan for our household. At the first sign of a "flu" outbreak, everyone in our home will become "mysteriously" ill. We will remain in our house for several days, carefully watching the news. If, in fact, it’s nothing more than a flu, we will have used up a few sick days. If not, we plan to keep at least 14 days worth of supplies in the house – just in case.

In the event outside contact is necessary, I will be the one to do it. No, I don’t want to die; but if a biological weapon is released, the rampant panic and ensuing chaos for the survivors means one thing – Darwin in action. Survival of the fittest. My husband, physically stronger, has a greater constitution, better survival skills, and a deadlier aim. I need for him to live, to protect our son in an unknown world that would emerge beyond the outbreak.

Even discussing this eventuality distressed my husband immensely. He rejected the plan outright, until I used every weapon in my personal arsenal – from brutal logic to wily, feminine tears, to hammer my point home. Like our many insurance policies, our will and trusts, our personal firearms, and other carefully constructed safety nets, I hope never to use this one.

No, I don’t want to die – but I’ll risk it if I have to, for the sake of those I love more than I could ever love myself. ***

© 2001 Linda Prussen-Razzano