Ernest, this is what she thinks, from a November 2005 Larry King interview. Since this interview, there was, for example, Suskind’s report that extremely virulent anthrax was found (from before 9/11) in Kandahar, and various other dramatic news reports relating to Al Qaeda and anthrax (such as the Afghan governor who reported the seizure of anthrax in packets for mailing to government officials in a press conference)
MILLER; I know. No. I think just because I’m pretty persistent and dogged about covering issues and stories that I think are of interest and importance to the American people. I mean, I was concerned about al Qaeda long before it became fashionable in Washington to be worried about it. My colleague Jeff Gerth and I wrote the first long serious piece about al Qaeda for the “New York Times” back in the mid-’60s (sic). And then, of course, there was the wonderful series that I was a participant in that won the Pulitzer Prize in January 2001 for our series, “Three Parts on al Qaeda,” the threat it posed to the United States.
So, yes, I care passionately about threats to this country internal and external, and I work hard to make sure they get into the paper. And I guess that means that I’m an aggressive, pushy reporter. Guilty, as Bill Safire said, I’m not sometimes Ms. Congeniality.
I don’t think I’m quite the kind of terror that people said I am, but I guess I can get pretty persistent when I think a story is worth pursuing.
***
KING: Anthrax — you wrote about it extensively. Still fear it?
MILLER: Absolutely. Absolutely. Why not? We still don’t know who put the anthrax into those envelopes that killed five people in our country and sickened 17, and put 20,000 on antibiotics. That investigation is still unsolved, so am I concerned about an Anthrax attack and biological attacks on the United States? I am. That’s why I wrote “Germs,” which you were kind enough to talk about on this show, with my colleagues at the “New York Times.”
We have to be concerned about WMD threats and terrorist threats to our cities. Look at what’s happened in London. The night I went to jail, Larry, the night I was in jail I woke up to the sound of the sirens in London and the dreadful subway bombings, and I thought oh my gosh, the same thing could happen in New York.
It has to flash through your mind if you’re a New Yorker or you live in Los Angeles or any major city. We are vulnerable and though a great deal has been done to try and make it safer, I think Katrina, the disaster, the natural disaster showed us how unprepared we remain. I think all Americans should be concerned about that. I certainly am.
She thinks that al Qaeda is very dangerous and they would use bioweapons against us if given a chance. I think every American probably agrees with her. I certainly do.
But she says NOTHING about her beliefs regarding who sent the anthrax letters in 2001.
The fact that al Qaeda would use anthrax against us if they had the opportunity doesn't mean they were responsible for the anthrax attacks of 2001. You may truly believe they were, but the evidence says otherwise.