Dr. S
I think the leaders are afraid that a conclusive tie to Iraq will cause mass demands for swift retribution -- and they'd rather wait for the right time. Or, something's already under way, and we risk spooking Saddam.
Socialists in Congress? Click on the zeppelin, Grasshopper.
I think this thing is a matter of timing. I think that "proof" of Iraqi complicity will show up as soon as the U.S. can manage a second front on the war. Until then, the official position will be one of waffling.
Oh, please. Bentonite is just about as innocuous and harmless a substance as can be imagined. It is simply a pure form of clay, used as a dessicant and absorbent. Its probable use in anthrax is to keep the spores dry and therefore less likely to clump together. But the chemical is not "potent" except in the scientifically illiterate minds at ABC.
Bentonite is a very common clay. It is used as a filtration agent in labs as well as to make pottery. It would not be unusual to find bentonite in any laboratory product that had not been cleaned up.
So9
1. The bentonite thread was discussed last night also. The stuff is clay. It is dug up out of the ground processed and sold by the box car load. It has a lot of uses, including keeping particles from caking together so they can stay suspended in air longer. It is also used in kitty litter and swimming pool filters. Anyone with a few $ can go into a swimming pool supply store and buy a large sack of it.
2. The $100,000 spray drier is an industrial machine used for processing materials by the ton. So far the US has seen a few letters with anthrax in them, but the total might amount to a couple of ounces, probably a lot less. No one needs an industrial spray drier to generate a few ounces of powder.
The quantities we have seen so far are kitchen table amounts.
If anyone is really using a $100,000 spray drier to make anthrax in the US, they are not mailing it out. This is the type of thing you use to make powdered instant coffee, instant tea, etc. Think of the volumes of that stuff used every day in the US and then ask where is all the anthrax going?
Bottom line here is that any moderately good chemist would know about using bentonite to keep powders from caking and the same chemist would be able to pulverize small amounts of a coarse anthrax powder into a fine one without a $100,000 machine. Bentonite doesn't mean that Sadam is behind it, all it does is cast some suspicion and gives a few other leads to follow up.
This after Fleischer denied Friday any bentonite was found at all.