C'mon, Shermy, you know better than that.
The feds don't want to make an issue of the anthrax angle or promote any fear of a "sleeper-mounted" broadspread biological attack.
Until, that is, we are prepared to a.) smash Saddam with one lightning blow and b.) insure that the domestic consequences of doing so are mimimized. Meanwhile, the administration's reluctance to broach this subject is perfectly understandable.
Still, I think the "anthrax" angle with the cropdusters is might be off base.. misleading because "cropdusters" and "Anthrax" came to the public mind at the same time, so they connect the two. Then the experts come and show that Anthrax couldn't be spread well that way (though that doesn't mean the terrs wouldn't try).
But cropdusters could be for a different form of attack - chemical. Remember, Atta asked "how much poisons does it hold" to one Florida man. Al Qaeda goes for simplicity, often. 9/11 has been described as "high concept, low tech" - they find seams in security and the like. How about a simple chemical attack with simple components, purchased right here in the USA?
"....Files outlining al-Qaida efforts to launch a program of chemical and biological weapons, code-named al Zabadi, Arabic for curdled milk. As part of the plan to develop a “home-brew nerve gas,” members were given a long reading list that included a study titled “Current Concepts: Napalm.”So perhaps the terrs had some chemical they could add to insecticide to make it more effective, and would deploy it with cropdusters - a tool made for spreading insecticide. This could have been an alternative plan, or just one of many more thought up..........
HOME BREW
Soon after the African (1998) bombings, the computer files show al-Qaida embarking on potentially its most deadly project: the “curdled milk” biological- and chemical-warfare program. A memo written in April 1999, apparently by Zawahri, notes that “the destructive power of these weapons is no less than that of nuclear weapons.”
The memo laments al-Qaida’s sluggishness in realizing the menace of these weapons, noting that “despite their extreme danger, we only became aware of them when the enemy drew our attention to them by repeatedly expressing concern that they can be produced simply.”
As a first step, the memo suggests, militants must brush up on their reading. The memo gives a detailed precis of an American history of chemical and germ warfare. It lists a catalog of exotic killers, from anthrax to Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
A May 7, 1999, file indicates that by that time, al-Qaida leaders had earmarked $2,000 to $4,000 for “start-up” costs of the program. In a letter dated May 23 and written under one of Zawahri’s aliases, the author reports discussing some “very useful ideas” during a visit to Abu Khabab, the alias of an elderly Egyptian scientist. “It just needs some experiments to develop its practical use.”
Particularly encouraging, the letter in the computer files said, was a home-brew nerve gas made from insecticides and a chemical additive that would help speed up penetration into the skin. The writer said Khabab had supplied a computer disk that gave details of “his product” in a WinZip file, and “my neighbor opened it by God’s will.”
U.S. officials, citing satellite photos and intelligence gathered from local residents, say Abu Khabab experimented with nerve gas on dogs and rabbits at a camp near the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad. The camp, one of several in the area hit by U.S. bombs after Sept. 11, was known as Abu Khabab in honor of the scientist.
In a letter dated May 26 and stored in the computer under the same alias as earlier correspondence, the author says he was “very enthusiastic” about the Zabadi project and was especially pleased with Abu Khabab’s “significant progress.”
I see your point about not alarming people. But that doesn't preclude other motives too.
With that said, I also agree that not saying anything until we're ready to strike with one debilitating blow makes good tactical sense.