MotherJones Blog: Remember the Anthrax Investigation?

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Remember the Anthrax Investigation?

Remember the anthrax investigation? The probe into the individual (or individuals) responsible for sending a wave of anthrax-laced letters through the mail just days after 9/11? After the initial flurry of media attention died down little was written about the case, but the FBI has quietly continued to investigate the attacks. Now, The Washington Post, among other news outlets, is reporting that there's been a new -- and somewhat discouraging -- development in the case:

Five years after the anthrax attacks that killed five people, the FBI is now convinced that the lethal powder sent to the Senate was far less sophisticated than originally believed, widening the pool of possible suspects in a frustratingly slow investigation.

The finding, which resulted from countless scientific tests at numerous laboratories, appears to undermine the widely held belief that the attack was carried out by a government scientist or someone with access to a U.S. biodefense lab.

It was originally believed that the agent used in the attacks was a rare, weaponized variety of anthrax known as the Ames strain, which could only be found in a handful of labs, among them the U.S. Army's Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) on the Fort Detrick base in Frederick, Maryland. “In my opinion, there are maybe four or five people in the whole country who might be able to make this stuff, and I'm one of them," former U.N. bioweapons inspector Richard O. Spertzel said in 2002. "And even with a good lab and staff to help run it, it might take me a year to come up with a product as good."

The alleged grade of the material and the significant expertise needed to refine it led the FBI to zero in on government biodefense researchers, in particular Steven J. Hatfill, a former researcher at USAMRIID who the Bureau designated a "person of interest" in the case. (Hatfill has sued The New York Times and Vanity Fair for defamation and the Justice Department for violating his constitutional rights in leaking confidential information to the press.)

Now, according to the Post:

The prevailing views about the anthrax powder, meanwhile, have been coalescing among a small group of scientists and FBI officials over several years but rarely have been discussed publicly. In interviews and a recently published scientific article, law enforcement authorities have acknowledged that much of the conventional wisdom about the attacks turned out to be wrong.

Specifically, law enforcement authorities have refuted the widely reported claim that the anthrax spores had been "weaponized" -- specially treated or processed to allow them to disperse more easily. They also have rejected reports that the powder was milled, or ground, to create finer particles that can penetrate deeply into the lungs. Such processing or additives might have suggested that the maker had access to the recipes of biological weapons made by the United States in the 1950s and 1960s.

If this is true, then it complicates the investigation significantly and makes the list of potential suspects much longer. The FBI, for its part, has described its suspect list as "fluid." This development also begs the very important question of how so many experts could have been so wrong for so long.

I will never believe anything these Repubs say because they have an endless list of lies, which never stops. Who, the neocons, the Catholics, the white Baptists, the US Chamber of Commerce(and corruption)the MSM will manufacture how many more lies before the elections.

Posted by: Bob DAmico on 09/29/06 at 7:25 PM Respond

I would suspect that the original hypothesis was the correct one and this latest wide net strategy is designed as a ruse to cloud the investigation. The FBI probably have a good fix on a shorter list of suspects. The problem is that we are under treaty obligations to not be messing around with biological warfare programs. The President in one of his many careless “leaks of classified” information let it slip in the State of the Union message in 2004 I believe that we had weaponized Ebola a probable violation.. If the FBI were to push this investigation the extent of our programs would be exposed and the embarrassment would far out weigh the benefits of prosecuting a person or persons for killing a few postal workers in the attacks aimed at mere Democrats and reporters. After all Postal workers Democrats and news people are not essential to our mighty “War on Terror”.

Posted by: R. Ruffian on 09/30/06 at 6:42 AM Respond

DON'T BE FOOLED BY THIS

What the article does not talk about is how the FBI had the USAMRID's weaponized anthrax samples DESTROYED under the pretext that it would prohibit any further attacks. What they in fact did was destroy the one source that could identify where the anthrax came from. This nice little piece of obstruction by the FBI made it possible for them to make the dubious claim that it could have come from anywhere. You see how this works? When you can control the rogue elements within the system you can make any reality you want.

Posted by: 911truth on 09/30/06 at 12:56 PM Respond

FLASE FLAG COVERT OPERATIONS

MANIPULATING THE FACTS

This is how it works. First you order a synthetic false flag terror event like sending anthrax to those who oppose your policies and legislation such as the Patriot Act and divert attention away from questions surfacing about what really happened on 911.

Rogue intelligent operative with high level access to US weaponized Anthrax stage a terror attack against your opponents under the false flag banner of terrorism. Later when it is determined that the anthrax had to come from within you simple destroy any path to the evidence and slow everything down.

Once the avenues which could expose these covert operations are covered up you can then use the media to make any claim you like. In this case they have done a 180 because they know the evidence or anthrax DNA match has been destroyed and there is no way to link it to them.

This is standard procedure for the rogue elements that have designed and carried out false flag terror within the United States such as 911 and other international crimes such has the London bombings.

Posted by: 911truth on 09/30/06 at 1:06 PM Respond

This whole thing smells like rotten meat.
Even if the anthrax wasn't weaponized the article mentions the need of "considerable skill" and access to equipment.

Let me ask you, do you think someone went through all the trouble of making this high quality anthrax just to kill 5 people and then stop?

I think it was just a warning shot across our bow and that we caved in to whatever demand was made.

Given our disposition to panic and overreact (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1151847) continued mailings of anthrax would have played out in a very negative way and would have made the Bush administration look ineffective in protecting its citizens.

Personally, I think the demand went something like this: "leave Tora Bora now! In fact, stop looking for me altogether.
Love,
Osama."

Posted by: kackermann on 10/01/06 at 5:32 AM Respond

by having antrax identified of an specific strain tells me that we are dealing with one of this 2 problems.
1. The antrax came from a local lab wich opens margin for coverups
2. Terrorist are well advanced at developing a unique strain.

either way ... it is a very difficult situation.

Posted by: Dr.Q on 10/01/06 at 7:07 PM Respond

Well, Happy New Year everyone! Maybe, just maybe, 08 will be THE YEAR that the FBI actually solves this one - but I seriously doubt it. I imaging they are hoping that everyone has just forgotten about it by now so that the whole thing can just quietly die and be another embarrassment they can just sweep under the rug. But, speaking of dying...

So, if the material really wasn't weapons grade was this a "serious" attempt to kill Americans? And, if someone(s) really had an intention to kill/harm/hurt American people when they sent the letters, would they have warned them to take antibiotics? Would they have given any warning at all? I don't think that the person(s) who did this had any intention of causing harm to loyal American citizens at all but merely to WAKE UP a sleeping government to the real dangers of the biothreat.

What do you all think or, has everyone just forgotten about this like the FBI hopes?

Posted by: riidusfrmth3m on 01/07/08 at 5:41 AM Respond