7, pp. 255-56).
The only possible threat to the survival of the United States is posed not by human actors, but by disease. At this writing, no such disease has been discovered. However, medical scientists warn that bacteria and viruses which cause fatal diseases constantly mutate, often in response to drugs developed by man to combat these organisms. Some of the most significant events in human history have been "plagues" of infectious disease which killed large segments of societies. It is common knowledge that various forms of bubonic and pneumonic plague killed one-third of Europe's population during the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Century. Given the realities of modern air travel, such diseases would spread far more quickly in today's world. Although such diseases would affect Third World populations to a greater degree than American society, it is not inconceivable that a particularly virulent and deadly disease would inflict disastrous casualties upon American society (Garrett, 1996, pp. 406-13).
Despite the potential survival threat posed by "plagues," the nature of this threat does not lend itself to response by military force. As has been noted by several experts, identification of potential "plague" would probably come too late to prevent the spread of the disease to the United States. Modern travel realities enable such a disease to reach the United States within weeks of its initial outbreak. Military forces would be helpless to prevent all infected persons from reaching this country and military medical resources could only be used to alleviate some of the suffering; they would not be able to contain the disease (Garrett, 1996, pp. 406-13).
Terrorism poses a threat to the national interest categories of defense of the homeland, promotion of values, and favorable wo
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