It seems that the last part of my post is missing:

Another important question is why not just release a virus or bacteria upon the population? I believe that this may have already been tried with the swine flu. The problem is that in order to have a truly dramatic impact, you must have a pathogen that is easily transmitted, resistant to mutation and is relatively protected from attack by the human immune system. Well, viruses are certainly easy to transmit and can be almost impossible to defend against, but they mutate constantly. When you combine mutation frequency with transmission frequency, it becomes very unlikely that any particular virus will have a significant impact. Bacteria are much less likely to mutate, but they are more susceptible to immune system attack.

Remember, the primary goal of a bio-warfare attack is shock and awe. It is not so much about how many people you kill rather than coercing the surviving population into complete submission. It is the final blow...it is the breaking of the back of this country. We will be delivered into the hands of the perpetrators.

But knowledge is power I firmly believe. And the book is not quite written yet.