US: Terrorists Could Steal Bio-Weapons From Indian Labs

Latest cables released by WikiLeaks also discuss Cuba
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 17, 2010 6:20 PM CST
US Fears Terrorists Could Steal Bio-Weapons From India Labs
A cyclist rides past the main premises of Biocon, an Indian biotech company, in Bangalore, India, Friday, Dec. 17, 2010.   (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Today in WikiLeaks revelations: US officials fear terrorists could steal biological weapons including “bacteria, parasites, viruses, or toxins” from Indian laboratories with weak security, according to US diplomatic cables published today in the Guardian, the AP reports. One cable cites an expert explaining that security at most academic research facilities is lax: “The harsh reality is that you can bribe a guard with a pack of cigarettes to get inside.”

Another reveal from the cables, published in the New York Times: Many of the world’s democracies are pretty easy on Cuba. Visitors from Canada, Australia, Switzerland, and the European Union haven’t criticized the Castro regime or or met with dissidents while in the country; a top American diplomat implies in the cable that such a lack of criticism could be fueled by economic motives, even though the benefits usually only amount to “pomp-full dinners” and “a photo-op with one of the Castro brothers.”
(More Cuba stories.)

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