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| Anthrax Spores From Hill Said to Be Made Recently |
| 2002-06-23 |
| Government officials said scientists have determined that anthrax spores mailed to Capitol Hill last fall were made less than two years ago, suggesting that the author of the anthrax attacks had access to a modern laboratory and could make a new batch. The researchers' determination did not change the general direction of the FBI investigation, which for months has been searching for a suspect among disgruntled domestic scientists with the expertise needed to culture, mill and "weaponize" the spores. But the new findings cast further doubt on the hypothesis that the spores could have been stolen from a lab decades ago, saved in dry storage and used in the wave of attacks last October and November. It narrows the field where they have to look. But if they're looking in the wrong field, it doesn't matter how narrow it is. FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III, at a recent meeting with Washington Post editors, declined to discuss the eight-month investigation in any detail. The new findings do not appear to have pushed the investigation appreciably forward. It sounds like the investigation is stalled dead. That bespeaks either the slickness of the perps, or ineptitude on the part of the investigators. Once FBI is on a case, they're not usually inept. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
| #1 If media reports are correct, less than 10 grams (1/3 of an ounce) of Anthrax almost shut down to US Post Office system. Under State and Federal Occupational Health and Safety acts, under general shutdown conditions, the public would have had to pay postal workers full wages until safety was restored. Besides the human tragedy that would unfold, an event of that nature would be a fiscal nightmare. There are tons of weapons grade anthrax out there, and millions of jihadis who would use it against civil populations. In light of these dangers, the public should accept risk abatement measures, even if same involves suspension of some freedoms. |
| Posted by: RG Fulton 2002-06-23 13:14:37 |