[Loopy]

Why is it so impossible to think that terrorists really ARE sending lots of the stuff through the mail? Perhaps they have figured out a way to suspend it in talcum powder or the like? Must we assume that our enemies are idiots? Must we assume that our enemies don't have the capability to make technological advances? In any war both sides seek to create new methods of killing the enemy.

In any event, keep in mind that in the past the terrorist's biggest hits have been on the order of 10-100 dead at a clip. Why would they necessarily care if their delivery system was crude or easily treated. They are going to get SOME people. They are going to score SOME successes. Not everyone who opens mail keeps abreast of the news. So why is it impossible to imagine (like the notion of flying airliners into buildings) that they have developed a method to deliver anthrax through the mail? Because we haven't figured out how to do it? Well, there's no reason for us to figure that out. There is a reason for them to figure it out.

[Stefan Stackhouse]

Why is it so impossible to think that terrorists really ARE sending lots of the stuff through the mail? Perhaps they have figured out a way to suspend it in talcum powder or the like? Must we assume that our enemies are idiots? Must we assume that our enemies don't have the capability to make technological advances? In any war both sides seek to create new methods of killing the enemy. In any event, keep in mind that in the past the terrorist's biggest hits have been on the order of 10-100 dead at a clip. Why would they necessarily care if their delivery system was crude or easily treated. They are going to get SOME people. They are going to score SOME successes. Not everyone who opens mail keeps abreast of the news. So why is it impossible to imagine (like the notion of flying airliners into buildings) that they have developed a method to deliver anthrax through the mail? Because we haven't figured out how to do it? Well, there's no reason for us to figure that out. There is a reason for them to figure it out.

Just because they like to kill lots of people in one fell swoop, don't make the mistake of assuming that such is the only type of strike of interest to them. We are talking about asymetric warfare here, and it is best waged with multiple tactics, for the same reason why B-2s armed with nukes are not the only weapons in our arsenal. Yes, this small-scale bio attack is not killing many people, but it is starting to accomplish other things, which have been detailed elsewhere on this thread. All by itself, this wouldn't ammount to much. However, it needs to be viewed within the context of the Sept 11 strikes already undertaken, plus whatever they might have planned in the future. This antrhax scare has proven itself to be an effective way for them to keep the anxiety level up over a month after 9/11 at very low cost or risk of detection.