X is working for the bad guys? Speed isn't going to like this!
Posted on 03/31/2005 8:50:54 PM PST by Straight Vermonter
THE al-Qaeda terror group made unexpected advances in developing a virulent biological strain - dubbed "Agent X" - before the September 11, 2001, attacks, a US presidential commission on US intelligence operations said today.
The commission said in its final report that intelligence analysts were "surprised by the intentions and level of research and development" uncovered after the US invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001. The commission, appointed by US President George W. Bush in response to intelligence failures in Iraq, said US intelligence had long held that al-Qaeda members had trained in crude methods for producing biological agents such as botulinum toxin, as well as toxins obtained from venomous animals.
But the commission said intelligence agencies before the Afghanistan invasion had been uncertain whether al-Qaeda had managed to acquire "a far more dangerous strain", which it only identified as Agent X in its unclassified report.
"The (intelligence) community judged that al-Qaeda operatives had 'probably' acquired at least a small quantity of this virulent strain and had plans to assemble devices to disperse the agent," the report said.
After the war, it became clear that al-Qaeda's biological program was "further along, particularly with regard to Agent X, than pre-war intelligence indicated".
"The program was extensive, well-organised, and operated for two years before September 11 (2001), but intelligence insights into the program were limited. The program involved several sites in Afghanistan," the report said.
The commission said two of these sites contained commercial equipment and were operated by people with special training.
It cited documents as indicating that while al-Qaeda's primary interest was Agent X, the group had "considered acquiring a variety of other biological agents".
The commission backed the "hypothesis" that al-Qaeda had acquired several biological agents, possibly as early as 1999, and had the necessary equipment to enable limited, basic production of Agent X.
"Other reporting indicates that al-Qaeda had succeeded in isolating cultures of Agent X," the commission said.
But it said "outstanding questions remain about the extent of biological research and development in pre-war Afghanistan, including about the reliability of the reporting described above".
Security officials have long warned that al-Qaeda could try to use biological weapons such as anthrax, ricin, smallpox, plague or ebola.
Al-Qaeda manuals on preparation of biological warfare agents were discovered at the group's training camps in Afghanistan after the invasion.
| WMD COMMITTEE | |||
| Al-Qaeda employs a number of Muslim scientists of various nationalities, principally Egypt, to assist them in the creation and procurement of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons. | |||
| Midhat Mursi al-Sayid 'Umar aka Abu Khabab | Emir of the WMD Committee | At Large | Unknown |
| Assadalah Abdul Rahman | Chief of WMD procurement | At Large | Unknown |
| Abu Bashir al-Yemeni | Unknown | At Large | Unknown |
| Abdel Hari al-Iraqi aka Abu Abdallah | Afghanistan Commander-in-Chief liason to Iraq for WMD production | At Large | Unknown |
| Aafia Siddiqui | Female member of Ghaliani's crew with biological training | At large | Pakistan |
| Mohammed Amjad Khan | Member of Ghaliani's crew with biological training | At large | Pakistan |
| Abdul Hadi Daghlas aka Abu Taisir | AMZ's relative - Al-Qaeda WMD expert | Dead | Hell |
| Saifullah Yunos | JI explosives and WMD expert | Apprehended (May 2003) | In Custody-Philippines |
| Mustafa Setmariam Nasar aka Abu Musab al-Suri | Zarqawi's mentor WMD expert | At Large | Likely In Pakistan |
Agent X=Smallpox?
What if they release four or five different diseases in ten of our major cites? Plague in LA, Small Pox in Miami. Could this be how the US will no longer exist in 2007?
If all this became clear after the war, then the war was justified, right?
"Health-Care Workers Urged to Get Smallpox Vaccinations"
By Vicki Kemper, Times Staff Writer
"WASHINGTON -- Top government officials implored health-care workers Thursday to volunteer for smallpox vaccinations, telling them that the threat of a bioterrorist attack is real, that it is their public duty to be prepared and that the government will compensate them for any injuries."
Do viruses and bacteria stop at borders and airports? Isn't the entire planet only a dozen hours away by jet?
So, the result is worldwide pandemic. While the US and other developed nations cope with their own ill populations, however, there won't be any massive airlifts of aid as we saw during the tsunami relief. The nations that suffer the most will be those same 3rd-world swamps that came up with the plagues in the first place.
Jihad must translate to mean 'shoot me, I'm too dumb to live'.
TM Ping
Agent X = Ames?
Smallpox, well there are vaccinations. Also, the U.S. is probably able to handle a Smallpox epidemic. But I remember an anthrax victim,
"By the end of the day, one of the men was diagnosed with the flu and sent home, where he died the next day. The other man was put on the antibiotic Cipro -- hours before tests would confirm that he had anthrax. He's now resting at his home."
Anthrax Victims' Fate Varied By Their Hospital and Doctor
There was a terrorist attack in Japan in which Sarin was used in a subway. I believe it was a successful attack. This type of attack would be easier to carry out, using sarin, anthrax, et cetera.
I don't believe the fate of the U.S. is to be destroyed by terrorists' acts. Nowadays, more than ever, I agree with President Lincoln.
"At what point shall we expect the approach of danger? By what means shall we fortify against it? Shall we expect some transatlantic military giant, to step the Ocean, and crush us at a blow? Never! All the armies of Europe, Asia and Africa combined, with all the treasure of the earth (our own excepted) in their military chest; with a Buonaparte for a commander, could not by force, take a drink from the Ohio, or make a track on the Blue Ridge, in a trial of a thousand years.
At what point, then, is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us it must spring up amongst us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide." The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume I, "Address Before the Young Men's Lyceum,of Springfield, Illinois (January 27, 1838), p. 109."
Good points struwwelpeter...if you were a muslim, you would be considered a genius. Here, we just think you're very smart!
If they make some PowerPuff Girls, will they have to wear burkhas?
Wow, a real in-depth article about that dreaded Agent X. Nothing to worry about, however. US scientists say that as soon as these brilliant newspaper reporters find out what X really is, the scientists will be brought up to date and we'll all be safer.
X is working for the bad guys? Speed isn't going to like this!
:-)
If Agent X IS smallpox, one must consider the possibility that it could be a Russian weaponised strain (Ref: THE DEMON IN THE FREEZER by Richard Preston, BIOHAZARD By Ken Alibek). Something like this getting out is the stuff of nightmares. Even if a strain that the vaccine effects is released, there is nowhere enough doses available to even do ring vaccination (Ref: Smallpox and its Eradication, by F. Fenner, D. A. Henderson, I Arita Z. Jesek I.D. Landnyi www.who.int/emc/diseases/ smallpox/Smallpoxeradication.html). It is possible that Vistide/cidofovir might work, but there is little enough of that available.
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