ISIL Determined to Acquire Biological Weapons - Blog: The U.S. military has evidence that Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria are seeking biological weapons, an Army official said Oct. 7.
"Intelligence has recently discovered that ISIS intends to pursue biological agents and also is trying to figure out how to weaponize bubonic plague through the use of infected animals," said Brig. Gen. Maria Gervais, head of the Army's Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear School.
That threat — and those posed by improvised explosive devices, bulk chemical agents, the deadly Ebola virus and continued development of weapons of mass destruction — point to the need for an effective CBRN defense, she said Oct. 7 at a roundtable discussion in Washington, D.C.
"The greatest threat to this country is at the intersection of technology and radicalism," she said. "The chemical …regiment is more important than ever."
But amid continued budget constraints and downsizing, the Army's chemical biological, radiation and nuclear defense force faces concerns about whether it can adequately handle threats faced abroad and in the homeland, Gervais said.
"We must ensure that we are prepared to bring our unique CBRN capabilities to the fight, and we must continue training the Army and the joint force to not only survive, but also to win in the CBRN environment," she said.
