The devil we know, and don't know, in battle against WMD
ASHTON B. Carter and Robert G. Joseph are telling us what our government wants us to hear, but they aren't telling us the full truth ("Strengthening our strategy against WMD," Op-ed, Aug 14).
There is no real defense against weapons of mass destruction, and no possible means for the US government to unilaterally protect us, no matter how well our federal agencies work together or how strong our military deterrent capacity is.
It has taken nearly seven years just to identify a suspect in the post-Sept. 11, 2001, anthrax murders. Imagine the death toll if anthrax had been a contagious biological agent like weaponized smallpox.
The recent Russian use of cybertechnology to increase the power of its kinetic attacks helps make the case that war isn't what it used to be, and never will be again.
Ignoring for a moment the simple improvised explosive device in Iraq that can be produced for about the cost of a pizza, consider the accelerating power of biotechnology, cybertechnology, and eventually nanotechnology. Their affordability and ubiquity, and their power to mass murder anonymously, will increase exponentially. Unfortunately, our government's response rate to these growing threats is a wee bit slower. The only real means of reducing the WMD threat is to make a lot of very good friends in the world in as many places as possible. The US military may not be the best tool for that job. A wiser, kinder, and more generous foreign policy could be.
CHUCK WOOLERY
Rockville, Md.
The writer is former chairman of the United Nations Association, Council of Organizations. 