It has been known for centuries that a certain number of people survive epidemics unscathed. This was true for the waves of Black Death that eventually killed forty million people in Europe in the fourteenth century and for the numerous smallpox plagues that have swept through the world since it was first recorded in history, which killed over 500 million people. It has been observed over a century ago that survivors appear to be those who were the healthiest before an epidemic struck.

Despite the end of the Cold War, the United States still faces a range of serious national security issues. One at the forefront is the issue of the proliferation of biological weapons, and the accelerated development of the capabilities to design and produce biological weapons on the part of many Third World nations.(1) The Committee on Armed Services of the U.S.

When the West Nile virus first emerged in the U.S as the cause of the encephalitis outbreak in New York, it was considered an epidemiological mystery. The discovery made by an alert veterinarian in the Bronx Zoo, Tracey McNamara, baffled the CDC because that virus had never been present in the Western Hemisphere.

There are many academic studies, articles and books in public records exposing Castro's long term involvement with bacteriological and chemical weapons. The information has been presented in public forums. The U.S. media has been invited but they systematically choose to be absent. Perhaps so that by being absent they can claim, "but I didn't know." This information will also clash with the heavily orchestrated campaign to present Castro as non-threatening in order to normalize relations with Cuba. This collaboration of the U.S.

What Happened to Civil Defense?

"Some time during the first Bush administration, America completely scrapped any vestige of its fledgling civil defense structure. It had eroded badly during President Carter's administration, when the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) took over as the lead agency for civil defense.

Bioterrorism took front and center stage in October 2001, only a month after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. But, the United States has been threatened by terrorism for more than 15 years, e.g., the 1984 Salmonella contamination in Oregon and the 1996 Shigella hospital contamination in Texas. In 1998, Robin Cook, M.D., points out in Vector (Penguin Putnam, Inc, ©1999) that what his characters say about bioweapons and bioterrorism is true. Cook states that it is not whether a major bioterrorism attack in the United States will occur, but when.

"With no significant dissent, lawmakers voted May 16 to give the governor broad new powers to order medical examinations and even isolate and quarantine people without court approval.

"And it requires police and the National Guard to enforce her orders.

Dear Editor,

...[Cuba, Winter 2001 issue of the Medical Sentinel] is just too close for us not to take heed of the possibilities. The Cubans who have left have the best sense of it all. They are too keenly aware of and appreciate what freedom is all about, unlike the pathetically apathetic American population who have forgotten what America is all about (i.e., it's about people who love freedom, not just about people who are born here) and especially not about people who are born here and don't feel any sense of responsibility toward keeping freedom alive.