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From: mhnadel@gryphon.CTS.COM (Miriam Nadel)
Newsgroups: sci.bio,sci.research
Subject: Top Secret (was Re: Dugway Biowarfare Facility--a clarification)
Message-ID: <1884@gryphon.CTS.COM>
Date: Tue, 13-Oct-87 12:13:57 EDT
Article-I.D.: gryphon.1884
Posted: Tue Oct 13 12:13:57 1987
Date-Received: Thu, 15-Oct-87 06:43:50 EDT
References: <2476@sigi.Colorado.EDU> <6535@brl-smoke.ARPA> <2518@sigi.Colorado.EDU>
Reply-To: mhnadel@gryphon.CTS.COM (Miriam Nadel)
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Organization: Trailing Edge Technology, Redondo Beach, CA
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Xref: mnetor sci.bio:737 sci.research:266

Tony asked why the biowarfare research has to be top secret if it is
legitimately defensive.  This isn't a surprising question given the
ignorance of the general public regarding how classifications are made.
But it shouldn't surprise anyone who works in the defense industry.
One thing which is ALWAYS classified (whether secret or top secret) is
what we know about Soviet weapons.  If one were developing a vaccine
against some specific agent, it is fair to assume we have some reason for
believing that we might need defense against that agent, i.e. that we have
reason to believe the Soviets are developing such an agent.  Hence, knowledge
of what vaccines were being developed would imply knowledge of what we
know about Soviet weapons which makes such knowledge classified.

Miriam Nadel

-- 
"In 1953 I realized that the straight line leads to the downfall of mankind"
					-Friedensreich Hundertwasser
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