Ivan Eland

About the author: Ivan Eland is the Director of Defense Policy Studies at Washington D.C.'s Cato Institute.

According to a Department of Defense study there is a strong correlation between U.S. intervention in foreign affairs and the number of terrorist acts against Americans. In the past, such acts typically involved conventional weapons and claimed relatively few lives, and were therefore deemed annoyances rather than catastrophes. However, now that biological weapons are garnering worldwide attention, the government should rightfully fear the possibility that terrorists may begin to use such devices against American soil. This potential threat could be minimized if the United States would change its foreign policy to avoid meddling in international disputes in which America's vital interests are...