Here's what Ridge had to say during a conference on October 19, 2001: The tests to date, and we finally have -- we have the anthrax strains from AMI in Florida, from the Brokaw letter in New York and the Daschle letter here in Washington -- the tests to date also have shown, and it's a word that I put quotes around, a term of art in -- new language -- the tests have shown that these strains have not been weaponized. That's the latest report from FBI Director Rober Mueller.
We now know that isn't true of the DC anthrax. The anthrax was all similiar enough genetically to be of the same strain, but not identical. Specifically, the FL and DC anthrax differed in subtle but possibly significant ways. The Post, NBC, and ABC anthrax was "clumpy."
Alhaznawi saw a doctor for the cutaneous lesion in June. The max incubation period for anthrax is around 60 days. Untreated Cutaneous anthrax carries a mortality rate of about 25%, depending on location of infection. Untreated Inhalation anthrax is 100%. Which anthrax was Alhaznawi more than likely exposed to? Weaponized or non?
There's no doubt in my mind we have two different "grades" of the same strain of anthrax released. JMHO.
As I outlined last week, Department of Defense DNA tests showed the anthrax samples from Florida, New York and Washington are indistinguishable, meaning that they all come from the same strain of anthrax or the same family of anthrax. That continues to be the case. The DNA tests have also revealed that none of the anthrax samples have been genetically altered, which is very good news, obviously, because it means that the samples all respond to antibiotics. And, therefore, people who are exposed can be treated.So, unless there's other information to the contrary, it would seem, first of all, that all the anthrax was the same genetically. The Daschle anthrax is described as being less clumpy and purer than the NY Post anthrax. (The physical preparation of the NBC and AMI spores is unknown, due to insufficient samples. The genetic strain of these was presumably determined through anthrax grown in culture from infected individuals or from small numbers of spores found; this is consistent with Ridge's statement that the physical properties of the NBC and AMI powders are unknown.)
This week, we have received new information from additional laboratory tests. I convened a meeting at the White House last night to bring together the scientists, as well as representatives of the different agencies, to analyze and evaluate this information. It shows that the anthrax in the letter received in Senator Tom Daschle's office had some different characteristics. It is highly concentrated. It is pure. And the spores are smaller. Therefore, they're more dangerous because they can be more easily absorbed in a person's respiratory system.
We've also received a new preliminary analysis on the anthrax that was mailed to The New York Post. The preliminary analysis shows that it is more coarse and less concentrated than the anthrax in the Daschle letter. But I want to tell you, it's still highly concentrated. The New York Post anthrax is also sensitive to antibiotics.
Unfortunately, we have not been able to conduct similar tests on the anthrax from Florida or the Brokaw letter because of limited amounts of substance retrievable from the scene. Just wasn't enough for us to retrieve from the scene to conduct the same tests.
Now, I know there has been a lot of both public and private discussion, some of it with me and much of it among yourselves and even within this country, about the term "weaponize." It seems to have different meanings, different definition and meanings to different people. Based on these latest lab reports, it is clear that the terrorists responsible for these attacks intended to use this anthrax as a weapon. We still don't know who is responsible, but we are marshaling every federal, state and local resource to find them and bring them to justice.
By the way, none of this includes the Leahy letter, which was unknown at the time, and it's unclear whether the genetic studies include the spores at CBS and ABC.
It may be noteworthy that the Daschle letter appears to have gotten wet in transit. Look at the pictures at the FBI web site. You can see that the envelope looks like it got wet at the bottom right, and the letter itself shows brown stains about one-third of the way from the bottom (which would be the part of the folded letter next to the wet side of the envelope). I don't know how this would have affected the physical characteristics of the powder.
The genetic identity says that the ultimate source of all the anthrax was the same. Do the differences in physical characteristics say that one was high-quality ("weaponized") and the other was of lower quality? Some people have suggested that the difference could come from settling; with the powder sitting in a container, the smaller particles would make their way toward the top, and the bigger particles toward the bottom. If the Daschle spores were taken from the top of the container, it would be expected that the spores there would be in smaller clumps than in a sample taken from the middle or the bottom of the container. Do you think this is a possibility?
This is all very interesting, because it implies, as you say, that the scenario may be more complicated than one might initially think.