Council for a Livable World

The Council for a Livable World (CLW) is a lobbying and education organization that advocates arms control and nuclear disarmament. In the following viewpoint, excerpted from a “Fact Sheet” on biological weapons, the council argues that compliance with the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), which formally outlawed biological weapons, has been hampered by lack of enforcement mechanisms and by problems in monitoring biological weapons development. The viewpoint’s authors criticize the administration of President George W. Bush for derailing long- standing efforts to strengthen the oversight and enforcement mechanisms of the BWC by adding a legally binding protocol to the treaty. They insist that the BWC, with its proposed additions, is an integral means of preventing future instances of biological warfare.

As you read, consider the...