In this month’s edition of the American Journal of Public Health, a group of socially-responsible expressed their concern over the U.S. government’s initiative against bioterrorism, the threatened use of chemical or biological agents. They say that the funding of bioterrorist initiatives has increased substantially since the signing of Clinton’s 1994 Executive Order on the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, often at the expense of existing public health programs. Further, they are alarmed by the militarization of public health that may result, as the military’s war against bioterrorism could lead into an international arms race not unlike the Cold War.

Guests:

• Dr. Hillel Cohen, Department of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center. Dr. Cohen is a co-author of the editorial in the American Journal of Public Health.
• Dr. Victor Sidel, Department of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center, also a co-author of the editorial.