Woodward Speaks at Maine Intelligence Event
John D. Woodward, Jr., Professor of the Practice of International Relations at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, was the keynote speaker at a meeting of the Maine chapter of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO) held in Kennebunk, Maine on April 16, 2016.
Prof. Woodward briefed the 40 AFIO participants on “Countering the Use of Biological Weapons,” a topic he covers in his Intelligence and Homeland Security (IR 516) course at Boston University.
A retired Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer who served in the Clandestine Service and the Directorate of Science and Technology, Prof. Woodward discussed in detail the biological weapons threat, which he defined as the intentional or deliberate use of a pathogen by a human or humans to cause harm. Pathogens consist of three types, bacteria, viruses, and toxins, with bacteria and viruses being the real killers. Toxins, although potent and deadly, are not infectious or contagious hence do not cause nearly as much harm, according to Woodward.
Prof. Woodward explained that biological weapons pose a real threat in terms of the potential for death and harm. He noted that countering biological weapons is uniquely challenging in many ways across many disciplines; it is a classic “hard problem.” He contended that countering biological weapons will only get harder largely because of advances in the life sciences and information technologies. In essence, these advances mean more people, like terrorist and other non-state actors, can wreak greater harm with biological weapons.
Prof. Woodward then discussed possible policy approaches to focus greater attention on intelligence measures the United States and global community can take to prevent or disrupt a biological weapons attack.
Incorporated in 1975, AFIO is a national non-profit educational association for current and former intelligence professionals as well as individuals and organizations with an interest in the U.S. intelligence community. The AFIO Maine Chapter President Michael Severance, a retired Colonel, US Army, invited Prof. Woodward to speak and hosted his visit.