Posted on 09/27/2006 4:55:59 AM PDT by Renfield
Remember the anthrax attack following 9/11?
Ray Robison does.
“There are two prevailing theories. One theory is that a US scientist did it. The other is that the Saddam regime of Iraq or another rogue government with anthrax capability gave anthrax to al-Qaeda. Other theories abound but I will limit the argument to the two theories that fit the facts best.
“Those who follow the news about the anthrax attack know that for years the FBI has been investigating American defense scientists. Let me be more specific. The FBI has been pursuing U.S. citizens with high level clearances, years of professional experience and demonstrated loyalty to this country. The FBI has found nothing.”
Ray finds a lot of problems with this theory. Then, there’s the alternative. Ray looks at it with logic and informed perspective, and finds it more probable that Saddam’s supply of weaponized anthrax was delivered by Al Qaeda. But, as he notes, a lot of people have made up their minds that no such collaboration existed.
“What does your common sense tell you? Most of my friends (usually military) at the time of the attacks believed the anthrax was a continuing, near simultaneous attack with the plane hijackings of 9/11. It seemed like a combined arms attack, a fundamental of modern warfare. Could it just be so simple that al Qaeda hit us not once, but twice in a week? And what would the effect of such a scenario be on an FBI charged with the domestic counterterrorism mission? Would a second al Qaeda attack rub salt on an already horrible wound? And wouldn’t it be better for the FBI if the second attack was done by a military scientist, thus the Department of Defense’s fault and not a subsequent FBI counterterrorism failure? There are still a lot of questions and for me the answer is and always will be that until I see the proof I will never believe an American scientist did this instead of al Qaeda. I just don’t believe it.”
Thomas Lifson 9 27 06
I believe that was its purpose. The targets were obviously going to make the news.
How is it that they even discovered it was anthrax for Stevens EXCEPT that the other letters had been received. I think we're missing a piece.
The attacks must have been planned for some time and weren't just some spur of the moment. There must have been one real target and the other targets were just red herrings IMO.
The Ames strain was provided to Iraq as part of a then routine exchange between agricultural schools -- anthrax was generally considered a veterinary medicine issue.
And the US didn't supply Saddam with anything other than some relatively low level intelligence (by our standards) concerning the location of the Iranian military.
(1) The personnel trained to carry out the attack died in the airplanes on 9/11
(2) It didn't start on time ~ like they'd thought. The attackers imagined hundreds of thousands of people throughout the country coming down with pulminary anthrax shortly after the WTC and DC (Pentagon) attacks. Obviously it's not the sort of thing that creates very much of a dramatic flourish.
(3) Although there was widespread exposure to anthrax, only a small fraction of those exposed got sick, and even fewer died. Unexpectedly (to everyone) Cipro "cures" the condition if you catch it in time.
(4) If there's been another attack using the USPS as a vehicle, you haven't been told about it, and the anthrax (and lebenteenzillion other germs and poisons) were detected in a timely matter by special equipment installed in postal facilities since 9/11.
He sent his stuff to Planned Parenthood ~ they complained ~ he got prosecuted.
One of the largest fake attacks, amounting to hundreds of thousands of letters, was actually carried out by Planned Parenthood against its own donors, practitioners, and victims.
Fortunately it was stopped in time to prevent widespread panic ~ no one was prosecuted ~ presumably they're being protected by the Gonzales Justice Department, but this case should be readdressed and people sent to jail for a long time.
You could do it at home.
One of the victims reports that she received such a letter by September 18, just a week later, and during a period when no First Class Mail was being carried by air.
All the mailpieces could have been dropped in mail collection boxes in Boca Raton, Florida on the evening of September 7 or 8, and been "lost in the mail". (I've explained how this can be a normal experience for single-piece rate First-Class Mail letters weighing one ounce or less many times).
They would then travel by truck to Philadelphia BMC, and from there to a major mailer in the Trenton area.
These letters would be found during the course of operations during the week of September 10-14, and September 17-21, and dispatched out with non-presorted First-Class Mail from the mailer's plant to the nearest USPS MPC. They would have been canceled and sent through the system.
This backdoor route would successfully avoid contaminating postal equipment between West Palm Beach facility and the destination points (addresses) except for one letter which was delivered to an individual at American Publishing (National Enquirer, Star, etc.). That one was dropped in the inside letter mail drop at the Boca Raton post office, most likely while the attackers purchased an additional half dozen postage embossed envelopes from an afterhours vending machine.
Apparantly someone at Planned Parenthood thought it would be useful to INFORM their crowd of how dangerous anthrax could be by sending them what amounted to a fake anthrax attack ~ just to wake them up you know.
Of course that would have inspired wholesale panic particularly since Waggener was busy doing the same thing himself.
I still think someone at PP needs to spend a long time in jail for it.
yes, but in whose home was the lab? if AQ made this stuff inside the US - where is their lab?
Who said it took a laboratory to grow it ~ dead cows in the field can do the job.
it had to be milled, needed dryers, it didn't "come from the field".
Works both ways.
What you say makes sense.
It will be hard for you to file for damages from Saddam. His wealth is gone and his life will be too.
I disagree with the "no other reasonable source" part. There are literally tens of other possible sources, if you count governments and agencies within governments separately.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.