Diary Prequel Package — page 80

August 21, 2003 --I August 28, 2003 -- Showed General John Gordon (Director of White House Office of Homeland Security) around NIAID , i.e. Vaccine Research Center where Gary Nabel and I gave him a tour and also Building 40 with Brian Murphy. Gordon loved it and was quite impressed. With us were Stewart Simonson and Ken Bernard. August 29, 2003 -- Briefing of General Gordon in Situation Room of White House on update of biodefense efforts. DoD also briefed as did Parney Albright of DHS. I have a new friend in General Gordon. August 30 -- Sept.7, 2003 -- Usual stuff going on. Will return to WH to brief Gen. Gordon again since he asked about my concems where I had mentioned the gaps in Chem. and Rad. Biodefense during my last visit to the WH. Also, have been discussing with Bob Kadlec the possibility of going to Iraq with him to visit the medical people and establish contacts. Moral at NIH very low due to the lack of clarity of Elias Zerhouni as to exactly what he is Sept. 11, 2003 -- Briefed General John Gordon in the West Wing of the WH on our plans for Chem/Rad/Nucl countermeasure research. Also, the question of the "breakthrough" by Craig Venter in synthesized the Phi X bacteriophage in 10 days. DoE is selling this as a major breakthrough and the WH has reacted by wanting to restrict the research dissemination. I argued that this is important, but it is not a conceptual breakthrough, only a derivative improvement in technology that is already widely disseminated in Biotech companies and private scientists. I argued for transparency as well as cultivating a culture of responsibility among scientists by a RAC-type approach to this research. Present at the briefing was Gen. Gordon, Stewart Simonson, Ken Bernard, Fran Townsend (Deputy to Gen. Gordon and former CIA Associate Director). They loved the briefing. They want me to brief the deputy secretaries tomorrow and Andy Card next week. Sept. 12, 2003 -- Gave another briefing in the Situation Room of the White House to General John Gordon. Present were Ken Bemard, Carol Kuntz, Robert Card (Deputy Secretary of DoE), Ari Patrinos, Phil Russell, Larry Kerr, Harriet Meiers -- Deputy to Andy Card. Topic was the Craig Venter situation. I presented the facts and pushed for an NIH RAC-like approach and argued again for transparency and cultivating a culture of responsibility. Adjourned with Carol Kuntz to her office and discussed the anthrax threat and the capabilities of Al Quaeda in this regard. Will brief the VP within a couple of weeks on a progress report of biodefense at NIH. Sept. 17, 2003 -- Another briefing in the White House Situation Room for Gen Gordon regarding Venter issue. DoE did the briefing (Ari Patrinos) and I presented the proposal