Project Jefferson
Encyclopedia
Project Jefferson was a covert U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency program designed to determine if the current anthrax
vaccine was effective against genetically-modified bacteria. The program's legal status under the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention is disputed.
. Reporters Judith Miller
, Stephen Engelberg and William J. Broad collaborated to write the article. It is presumed that the reporters had knowledge of the program for at least several months; shortly after the article appeared they published a book that detailed the story further. The book, Germs: Biological Weapons and America's Secret War
, and the article are the only publicly available sources detailing Project Jefferson and its sister projects, Bacchus
and Clear Vision
.
isolated by Russian scientists during the 1990s. The goal of the secret project was to determine whether or not the strain was resistant to the commercially available U.S. anthrax vaccine
.
and reviewed by lawyers at the Pentagon
. Those lawyers determined that Project Jefferson was in line with the international treaty banning the production of bio-weapons, the Biological Weapons Convention
(BWC). Despite assertions from the Clinton and Bush administration
s that the project, and its sisters, were legal, several international legal scholars disagreed.
Troubling was the fact that the clandestine program was omitted from BWC confidence-building measure (CBM) declarations. These measures were introduced to the BWC in 1986 and 1991 to strengthen the treaty, the U.S. had long been a proponent of their value and these tests damaged American credibility. U.S. desire to keep such programs secret was, according to Bush administration officials, a "significant reason" that the U.S. President rejected a draft agreement signed by 143 nations to strengthen the BWC.
Anthrax
Anthrax is an acute disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Most forms of the disease are lethal, and it affects both humans and other animals...
vaccine was effective against genetically-modified bacteria. The program's legal status under the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention is disputed.
Revelation to the public
The secret Project Jefferson was revealed to the public in a September 4, 2001 article in The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
. Reporters Judith Miller
Judith Miller (journalist)
Judith Miller is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist, formerly of the New York Times Washington bureau. Her coverage of Iraq's alleged Weapons of Mass Destruction program both before and after the 2003 invasion generated much controversy...
, Stephen Engelberg and William J. Broad collaborated to write the article. It is presumed that the reporters had knowledge of the program for at least several months; shortly after the article appeared they published a book that detailed the story further. The book, Germs: Biological Weapons and America's Secret War
Germs: Biological Weapons and America's Secret War
Germs: Biological Weapons and America's Secret War is a #1 New York Times Nonfiction Best Seller. It was written by The New York Times journalists Judith Miller, Stephen Engelberg, and William Broad...
, and the article are the only publicly available sources detailing Project Jefferson and its sister projects, Bacchus
Project Bacchus
Project Bacchus was a covert investigation by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency US Defense Department to determine whether it is possible to construct a bioweapons production facility with off-the-shelf equipment.-Revelation to the public:...
and Clear Vision
Project Clear Vision
Project Clear Vision was a covert investigation of Soviet-built biological bomblets conducted by the Battelle Memorial Institute under contract with the CIA. The legality of this project under the Biological Weapons Convention is highly disputed....
.
Project
Project Jefferson began in 1997" ". Jefferson was designed to reproduce a strain of genetically-modified anthraxAnthrax
Anthrax is an acute disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Most forms of the disease are lethal, and it affects both humans and other animals...
isolated by Russian scientists during the 1990s. The goal of the secret project was to determine whether or not the strain was resistant to the commercially available U.S. anthrax vaccine
Anthrax vaccine
Anthrax vaccines are vaccines against the infectious disease anthrax. Anthrax is caused by the spore-forming bacterium Bacillus anthracis, that most commonly occurs in wild and domestic mammals. Anthrax also occurs in humans when they are exposed to infected animals, hides, or tissue from infected...
.
Legality
Project Jefferson was operated by the Defense Intelligence AgencyDefense Intelligence Agency
The Defense Intelligence Agency is a member of the Intelligence Community of the United States, and is the central producer and manager of military intelligence for the United States Department of Defense, employing over 16,500 U.S. military and civilian employees worldwide...
and reviewed by lawyers at the Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
. Those lawyers determined that Project Jefferson was in line with the international treaty banning the production of bio-weapons, the Biological Weapons Convention
Biological Weapons Convention
The Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction was the first multilateral disarmament treaty banning the...
(BWC). Despite assertions from the Clinton and Bush administration
George W. Bush administration
The presidency of George W. Bush began on January 20, 2001, when he was inaugurated as the 43rd President of the United States of America. The oldest son of former president George H. W. Bush, George W...
s that the project, and its sisters, were legal, several international legal scholars disagreed.
Troubling was the fact that the clandestine program was omitted from BWC confidence-building measure (CBM) declarations. These measures were introduced to the BWC in 1986 and 1991 to strengthen the treaty, the U.S. had long been a proponent of their value and these tests damaged American credibility. U.S. desire to keep such programs secret was, according to Bush administration officials, a "significant reason" that the U.S. President rejected a draft agreement signed by 143 nations to strengthen the BWC.
Further reading
- Miller, JudithJudith Miller (journalist)Judith Miller is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist, formerly of the New York Times Washington bureau. Her coverage of Iraq's alleged Weapons of Mass Destruction program both before and after the 2003 invasion generated much controversy...
, Engelberg, Stephen and Broad, William J. Germs: Biological Weapons and America's Secret War, (Google Books), Simon and Schuster, 2002, (ISBN 0684871599).