Director's page
Dear Reader
- Dr. Marc Cadisch
Director SPIEZ LABORATORY
Security policy in Switzerland has had to adapt to the entire transformation of the global political landscape after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the end of the Cold War. Formerly, the principal threat had been a global nuclear war which knew no borders. Nowadays, however, this horror scenario appears increasingly unlikely.
Are we, and in particular Switzerland, safer than we once were? In some ways, the answer is yes. Unfortunately, though, we are now faced with new threats. The greatest dangers today come from new forms of violence perpetrated by persons or organisations, who do not act on behalf of any country. In recent years, the threat to our highly technology-dependent society from terror attacks has been made obvious quite literally in front of our eyes. In today's world, the horror scenario is weapons of mass destruction in the possession of unscrupulous fanatics bent on violence.
New forms of defence and prevention are required to cope with such eventualities. SPIEZ LABORATORY plays an important role. Our activities include research, elaboration and exchange of information on NBC protection. At both national and international levels, we are closely involved in efforts on disarmament and arms control concerning weapons of mass destruction. We also act as an information provider for the authorities and the public.
The main priority of SPIEZ LABORATORY in the following years is to increase our expertise in biological weapons protection. Since the anthrax attacks in the USA in 2001, it has become clear how dangerous biological warfare agents can be when in the hands of well-organised terrorists. For this reason, there is a need of a laboratory in which we can do research work in this area and which will allow us to carry out diagnostic investigations. The planned construction of a high level safety laboratory (under the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports) will close a serious loophole in Swiss civil protection.
Dr. Marc Cadisch
Director SPIEZ LABORATORY