Skip to comments.
Anthrax Mailer May Not Have Intended Harm
Reuters via Lycos.com ^
| 09/29/2003
Posted on 09/29/2003 2:34:05 PM PDT by GeneD
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The deadly 2001 U.S. anthrax attacks may have been carried out by someone who did not intend to cause any harm, a top FBI official said on Monday.
Of the possibility that a scientist wanted to issue a wake-up call about the bioterrorism threat and it went out of control, FBI Assistant Director Michael Mason told a news conference, "That's a possible theory, but it's all conjecture."
Asked why their had been no other attacks, Mason said, "I suppose the leading thought might be the person didn't intend to cause harm, and did."
The FBI has been investigating anthrax-laced letters that were mailed to the news media and politicians in September and October 2001, which resulted in five deaths in a country already shaken by the Sept. 11 attacks.
Mason, who recently took over as head of the Washington field office and the anthrax probe, said the FBI has made some refinements, but no fundamental changes, to the profile of the person believed responsible for the attacks.
According to the profile, the FBI said the person probably was an adult male who may have worked in a laboratory or had a scientific background. He was suspected of working alone.
Mason rejected criticism that the investigation has languished. He said 27 FBI agents, and U.S. Postal Service investigators, continued to work on the investigation, conducting interviews and following scientific leads.
More investigation remained to be done. "There's still much work to be done before we can say with certainty what it may have taken to commit this crime," Mason said.
TOPICS: Anthrax Scare; Crime/Corruption; Extended News; Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: amerithrax; anthrax; antraz; fbi; michaelmason; timeline
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-20, 21-40, 41-47 next last
1
posted on
09/29/2003 2:34:05 PM PDT
by
GeneD
To: GeneD
Of the possibility that a scientist wanted to issue a wake-up call about the bioterrorism threat and it went out of control, FBI Assistant Director Michael Mason told a news conference, "That's a possible theory, but it's all conjecture."They must have some lead that the perp belongs to a member of the P.C. class of individuals.
2
posted on
09/29/2003 2:37:28 PM PDT
by
Paul Atreides
(Bringing you quality, non-unnecessarily-excerpted threads since 2002)
To: GeneD
"I suppose the leading thought might be the person didn't intend to cause harm, and did."Yeah. Kinda like when the Arabs fired two warning planes into the WTC, and some folks got accidently harmed.
3
posted on
09/29/2003 2:42:31 PM PDT
by
per loin
To: GeneD
Exqueeze me?
4
posted on
09/29/2003 2:45:10 PM PDT
by
mewzilla
To: GeneD; Badabing Badaboom
Anyone got a link to the text of the press conference?
5
posted on
09/29/2003 3:05:29 PM PDT
by
Shermy
To: GeneD
Pathetic.
6
posted on
09/29/2003 3:07:56 PM PDT
by
John W
To: GeneD
WHAT?????????????????????????????????????????????
7
posted on
09/29/2003 3:13:07 PM PDT
by
soozla
(FreeRepublic=Cootie Shot against liberalism)
To: John W
It's the "Don't worry, the killer really cares for us" scenario. Served the economy well.
8
posted on
09/29/2003 3:13:16 PM PDT
by
Shermy
To: Allan
Here is a new spin.
9
posted on
09/29/2003 3:13:57 PM PDT
by
riri
Comment #10 Removed by Moderator
To: GeneD
Asked why their had been no other attacks, Mason [should have said, "because the mailer, Mohammed Atta, died in the north tower of the World Trade Center."]
11
posted on
09/29/2003 3:24:35 PM PDT
by
beckett
To: Badabing Badaboom
LOL!
Anyway, a guy pretending to be AQ - wouldn't he way he was AQ?
12
posted on
09/29/2003 3:29:12 PM PDT
by
Shermy
To: Badabing Badaboom; 20somethingconservative
Re: 10
Thought about your comment more.
I think that explains the "mailer didn't think anthrax would leak out in the mail" story line.
In my view, the mailer didn't particularly care. The tape was good enough to get most of the germs to the target.
But for someone trying to pin the mailing on the benevolent scientist theory, the post office infections don't help the theory. Therefore the spin is the scientist "miscalculated" and so on.
13
posted on
09/29/2003 3:33:31 PM PDT
by
Shermy
To: GeneD
BS!
14
posted on
09/29/2003 3:41:34 PM PDT
by
SwinneySwitch
(The barbarians are inside the gates!)
Comment #15 Removed by Moderator
To: GeneD
Michael Mason sounds like he's STUPID!!!!
To: Ann Archy
I hope thats all he is.Just Read "1000 Years For Revenge" by Peter Lance.Its difficult to believe the FBI could be as ignorant as an institution as they seem in that narrative.Obviously,the alternative is even worse to consider.
17
posted on
09/29/2003 5:14:48 PM PDT
by
John W
To: Badabing Badaboom
Of course, he also used weaponized anthrax, coated with silica and gave it a nice charge with a corona discharge gun to ensure it would make a nice deadly aerosol
The anthrax wasn't "weaponized"; mythology due to an endless litany of articles by people who have no idea what they're talking about.
18
posted on
09/29/2003 7:01:57 PM PDT
by
John H K
To: beckett
Asked why their had been no other attacks, Mason [should have said, "because the mailer, Mohammed Atta, died in the north tower of the World Trade Center."]
Atta was dead before the FIRST anthrax letters were mailed.
19
posted on
09/29/2003 7:02:32 PM PDT
by
John H K
To: GeneD
The deadly 2001 U.S. anthrax attacks may have been carried out by someone who did not intend to cause any harm, a top FBI official said on Monday. Is this the same stoop who dreamed up the lake-draining exercise?
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-20, 21-40, 41-47 next last
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.
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson