Marie Isabelle Chevrier

Marie Isabelle Chevrier argues in the following viewpoint that the likelihood of an attack involving chemical or biological (CB) weapons is exaggerated. She maintains that the threat of CB terrorism is low because terrorists have no intention of killing on a large scale. Furthermore, Chevrier contends, even if terrorists wanted to employ CB weapons in an attack, the technical obstacles to producing such weapons would most likely prevent it. Chevrier is an associate professor of political economy at the University of Texas at Dallas. She is also a member of the Federation of American Scientists Working Group on Biological and Toxin Weapons Verification, whose goal is to find methods of enforcing biological weapon bans.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. According to Chevrier, why did...