Public Health And National Security - 1421 Words

An Overview of Potential National Security Threats Public Health and National Security: Assessing Potential Threats Identifying the primary threat to U.S. national security interests is a difficult task given the pervasiveness of multiple threats of these kinds. Indeed, a number of unique threats have emerged in recent years. A variety of non-traditional concerns regarding U.S. national security should become important issues in the years ahead, and issues of these kinds should be incorporated into the overall U.S. national security strategy. One such issue is disease. The United States is now more vulnerable to epidemics of disease than it has been for quite some time in part because of the globalization†¦show more content†¦One of these is the potential destabilizing effect that extensive and long term environmental damage may exercise. For example, the greater the impact of climate change, the more likely it will be that domestic unrest within the United States related to food, health, economic, and environmental difficulties will take place. The general consensus among experts in the fields that are related to environmental science is that significant climate change and other environmental difficulties are taking place, and that these will likely impact human well-being in the future. Political and economic conditions of the kind that are impacted by environmental conditions exercise an inevitable impact on national security as well (Schwartz, 1998). Bioterrorism and Economic Instability National security considerations regarding the spread of disease, and potential epidemics, and potential environmental difficulties overlap with what is presently the most significant U.S. national security concern and that is the threat of international terrorism. The genuine threat of bioterrorism means that disease related concerns and environmental concerns overlap with potential threats involving terrorism. This concern is enhanced by the possibility that terrorist organizations may be able to obtain biologically dangerous materials, and use these for destructive purposes. For example, in the early 2000s the United