"...one of the hijackers...was treated...for a severe black lesion...the doctor...is now convinced that al-Haznawi had anthrax...[he] asked an anthrax expert, Dr Tara O'Toole, director of the Centre for Civilian Biodefence at Johns Hopkins University ...to look at al-Haznawi's file. She did, then passed it on to a colleague...also a germ expert. Both concluded that the 'most probable and coherent' diagnosis was anthrax. If that could be proven, then the outbreak would almost certainly be linked to events on that day."
I don't know why the opinions of the doctor and the experts who reviewed the file are not considered evidence and given the weight they deserve. If al-Haznawi had lived, been arrested, and went to court, the prosecution most definitely could use their testimony in building the circumstantial evidence portion of the case. The overwhelming majority of criminal convictions are obtained largely with circumstantial evidence.
Atta and at least two other hijackers had the:
- Opportunity — they lived in Florida not far from the American Media building and rented an apartment through the real-estate-agent wife of an AM executive.
- Demonstrated interest in potential bio-weapons delivery systems — looked into use of crop dusters.
- Motive — if the kind of hatred demonstrated by the hijackings doesn't prove motive, nothing will.
- Peculiar physical problems — (a) Atta and one other hijacker in the pharmacy looking for something for what the pharmacist thought looked burned hands. (b) al-Haznawi's leision.
- A probable link to Iraq (and its weaponized anthrax) — the Prague meeting between Atta and the Iraqi intelligence officer.
While none of the above absolutely nails the case, it sure presents a boat-load of curious circumstances. They're certainly a heck of a lot more concrete that the very slim stuff that's been made public about Hatfill.
"Demonstrated interest in potential bio-weapons delivery systems — looked into use of crop dusters." I don't think this has been emphasized enough. There were repeated move's in this direction by a number of the hi-jackers (including Moussaoui). It's hard to imagine them doing this if they were not convinced that bio/chem weapons were available to them.
Another issue that came up early, but seems now forgotten is that the British lab that has anthrax (I'm trying to remember the name--"Porton Down" or something similar) was reportedly owned by an Arab. (please excuse my profiling).