Posted on 10/19/2001 2:22:16 PM PDT by t-shirt
US anthrax is `military grade'
London Guardian
October 19, 2001
QUALITY GERMS: Biological weapons experts say that terrorists could not possibly have made the type of anthrax seen in the US without some form of state-level help
Anthrax of the grade involved in the US Senate attack could not have been manufactured by terrorist organizations without some form of state-level help, leading biological weapons experts said on Wednesday. Scientists believe that the enormous complexities involved in producing the sort of "military grade" material US official say was found in senator Tom Daschle's office offer compelling evidence that the attack was state sponsored.
The term "military grade" means that the spores had been dried and milled down to a size of between one and five microns -- the crucial range for anthrax to become an effective weapon.
Any bigger than five microns, and the spores get stuck in the victim's nasal passages and are not capable of being suspended in the air; any smaller than one micron and the intended victims would exhale it.
Jonathan Ban, a research associate at the Chemical and Biological Arms Control Institute in Washington, said: "If the anthrax is between one and five microns, then that is the traditional route which states have gone down to develop anthrax as a militarily efficient biological weapon.
"That raises the possibility of some state sponsorship, perhaps not in the normal sense of a government allowing the transfer of biological agents, but maybe by individuals within government or weapons programs leaking the material."
Producing weapons-grade anthrax is incredibly difficult, according to Ban, the author of a report on bioterrorism for the US center for disease control in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.
First, the would-be users would have to acquire a suitably virulent strain of anthrax to use as the agent. This would have not only have to be potent enough to infect people and reproduce in their systems, it would also have to be stable enough to stand up to the manufacturing process.
Next, they would have to create the right conditions for growing the spores. Normally, they are grown in a wet slurry form, and it is extremely difficult to get the concentrations right. Even then, the manufacturers would need specialist equipment, such as bioregulators and formentors, to regulate oxygen levels, temperature and PH. Most of these are commercially available, although the supply of some is restricted.
After growth, the next hurdle would be to remove the agent from the wet slurry using a freeze drying process. Again the equipment is commercially available, but the process would require some expertise to avoid damaging the agent.
It is the next step, however, that is most important and most difficult: milling the dried spores down to the right size for inhalation infection to occur. The same equipment used in the manufacture of powdered drinks and flavorings could be utilized at this stage.
They would have to establish an airflow system to ensure that the spores cannot escape while being milled, or wear bulky protective suits which in turn would make the manufacturing process more tricky.
Scott Ritter, who used to inspect weapons in Iraq for the UN, agreed. "If this is anthrax which has been milled down to the one to five micron size ... then we have a problem because this shows that this is more than just people accessing routine stocks of vaccine quality or laboratory research quality anthrax and mailing it about," he told BBC Radio 4's Today program on Wednesday.
Investigators face an uphill struggle in establishing which state the anthrax may have originated from.
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Friday, 19 October, 2001, 18:08 GMT 19:08 UK
US anthrax strains the same
BBC
Seven people have been infected and 38 exposed
Tests have shown that strains of anthrax sent to NBC in New York, the Sun tabloid in Florida and to the Senate in Washington could have come from the same source. The revelation, from US Homeland Security Chief Tom Ridge, came as it was confirmed that a woman working for the New York Post had contracted the skin form of the disease.
A statement by the newspaper's publisher said the employee - the seventh US victim - was "already regarded as cured".
Speaking at a White House press conference, Mr Ridge said: "I wish I could tell you that we've seen the end of it, but we obviously are preparing for more.
"That's why we've decided to increase the supply of the antibiotics and that's why we are pursuing every lead as aggressively as possible."
Worker tracked
The White House has yet to name a suspect for the anthrax attacks.
"I do not have knowledge of a direct link of the anthrax incidents to the enemy, but I wouldn't put it past them," President George W Bush said at a press conference in China.
Federal investigators have been focusing on the route of a postal worker from Trenton, New Jersey, where two letters containing anthrax originated, who has also contracted the disease.
According to the New York Times, the tainted letters sent to Senator Tom Daschle and NBC news announcer Tom Brokaw were sent from a 1.6 sq km area of West Trenton, where some hijackers and suspected members of al-Qaeda lived.
With anthrax-lined letters being sent abroad, no country feels safe
The infected New York Post employee is the fourth case of anthrax in New York City - all involving media companies.
At least 38 people have been exposed to the bacteria.
According to TV station WNYW, which is affiliated to the New York Post, no other cases of anthrax were found in the News Corp building, which houses the New York Post and the headquarters of Fox News.
All three major TV networks in New York City, the New York Post, the Capitol Hill complex in Washington and a tabloid newspaper company in Florida have now become sites of anthrax infection.
Outside America, the Kenyan Government said four people had been exposed to anthrax bacteria in a letter posted from the US and in Argentina another letter posted from the US was being urgently tested.
Taleban denial
Earlier on Friday, the Taleban ambassador to Pakistan denied any link to the anthrax attacks in the US.
We don't even know what it is
Taleban envoy Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef said the Afghan movement did not even know what anthrax was.
FBI director Robert Mueller said the US was offering $1m for information on who was behind the anthrax attacks.
The US postal service is sending cards to every home and business - 147 million addresses - telling people how to deal with suspicious post.
Successful treatment
The British CBS employee who tested positive - an assistant to news anchor Dan Rather - was being treated with antibiotics and expected to make a full recovery.
Health authorities and emergency services in New York complained they were being swamped by nervous members of the public demanding nasal swabs and doctors were urged not to prescribe the antibiotic Ciprofloxacin - used to treat anthrax - without good medical reasons.
The drug's main manufacturer, Bayer, announced it would treble production.
Professor Harry Smith, Birmingham University "There's no evidence that this comes from Iraq" The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites
The reports I've seen indicate the anthrax was mailed about a week after the 9-11 attack. Is that enough time for a Kaczynski or a McVeigh to brew up a batch and get it in the mail? Or do you suppose our domestic bad guy had it sitting on the shelf and was patiently awaiting the right opportunity to use it?
And what do you make of the hijackers' interest in crop dusting? And Atta's visit to the pharmacist looking for something to put on his inflamed hands — did he perhaps wash his hands in bleach as a precaution after handling the anthrax?
Maybe it was a state with a lot of money but not too much technical expertise.
But if you seriously don't know who Atta is, you should spend less time posting and more time reading the newspapers.
But some of these Muslim zealots got wind of the fact that since the Soviets were finally subdued, they were no longer needed by Uncle Sam. They didn't like being expendable, they got very angry, and they got even, with a little help from their friends.
But to imagine that this utter catastrophe was in any way ordained by our government only results in the dismissal of legitimate CT.
The storm is fierce and our ship is being battered by raging swells. Now is not the time to spit into the wind.
It takes patience--and not a little luck. Being resistant to a wide range of antibiotics might very well make the bacteria less easily transmitted from host to host (basically, in BW you are trying to get your target population to act as walking incubators) or might lower lethality.
I talked to a biologist on the "Anthrax" thread a few weeks ago who seemed to know his stuff. He basically said that creating 1-5 micron anthrax spores would require about $100 million (factory & equipment) and several Ph. D.'s.
He noted that the Japanese "Aum shin rikeo (sp?)" cult spend millions of dollars, hired several Ph.D.'s, dispersed their anthrax spores in the Tokyo subway and didn't kill anyone.
Anybody notice Putin just went to this island in Uzbekistan and told them to tighten up security on a old Soviet supply of anthrax. The US is to supply help and equipment to clean up the place. Connect the dots.
snooker
It just took for the evidence to become overwheming (more and more leaks) before the government would acknowledge it.
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