U.S. troops respond to a simulated biological terrorism attack VIDEO CNN's Jamie McIntyre reports on the warning from Pentagon officials Windows Media 28K 80K

July 27, 1999
Web posted at: 8:29 p.m. EDT (0029 GMT)

From Correspondent Jamie McIntyre

Washington (CNN) -- The Pentagon is considering a temporary suspension of public tours because of heightened concerns of a possible terrorist attack by the followers of Osama bin Laden, the wealthy Islamic radical charged with masterminding last year's U.S. Embassy bombings in Africa.

"I don't want to alarm people. It is a precautionary measure we may take. So far we haven't made that decision," said Deputy Defense Secretary John Hamre.

The consideration follows warnings from top Pentagon officials that the United States is not prepared to meet biological attacks by terrorists.

In an editorial published in Monday's Washington Post, Defense Secretary William Cohen argued that a germ warfare attack on the United States could cause "a plague more monstrous than anything we have experienced."

Cohen warned that a surprise attack could infect "unsuspecting thousands" and turn hospitals into "warehouses for the dead and dying."

Members of Congress with access to classified intelligence reports insist the Pentagon is not exaggerating the serious nature of the threat.

"I don't want to give away any secrets, but the reality is that we have a threat of biological weapons being used in very small ways that can cause tremendous damage to society," said, Rep. Bill McCollum (R-Florida).

Defense Department: Millions could die

With a bombing or the release of nerve agents, the effects of an attack are immediately obvious. Germ warfare is more insidious.

"It starts in a much more subtle way, and you don't know exactly where it may have started," said Hamre.

Although the U.S. military is barred from domestic law enforcement, the Pentagon is assembling 14 specially trained National Guard and Army Reserve units to assist police and fire departments in coping with a possible attack.

A Pentagon task force also will work more closely with the FBI, which has closed tours of it headquarters amid concerns over similar attacks by followers of bin Laden, according to a report by NBC News.

Bin Laden has been charged by a federal court with masterminding last August's bombings of U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, which killed 224 people, including 12 Americans.

U.S. officials fear a biological weapons attack would be far more deadly.

By one Pentagon estimate, such an attack on Washington, D.C., would be as deadly as a nuclear explosion, leaving up to 3 million people dead.

During the past year alone, nearly 100 chemical or biological threats have turned out to be hoaxes. But the Pentagon warns it is not a matter of if, but when, such a threat will turn out to be true.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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