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One thing is obvious.
This aerosolized anthrax is lethal
unless handled by experts in a highly secure laboratory.

Those envelopes were not filled in someone's garage in south Florida.

Anyone disagree?????????

They were filled in a lab somewhere,
and the paper size indicates,
(along with a million other things)
the lab was not in the USA.
Looks as if poor old Haznawi, and maybe Atta,
got a cutaneous infection from some of the anthrax
that leaked out of the envelopes
while they carried them back to the USA.

One thing is obvious. This aerosolized anthrax is lethal unless handled by experts in a highly secure laboratory.

Those envelopes were not filled in someone's garage in south Florida.

Anyone disagree?????????

They were filled in a lab somewhere, and the paper size indicates, (along with a million other things) the lab was not in the USA. Looks as if poor old Haznawi, and maybe Atta, got a cutaneous infection from some of the anthrax that leaked out of the envelopes while they carried them back to the USA.

The letters were dated 09-11. One thought is that the envelopes probably wouldn't have been prepared as far in advance of Sept. 11 as this suggests, since the date of the WTC/Pentagon attack could always have been changed, for a variety of reasons. (On the other hand, we do have the Bin Ladin Group domain name expiring on 9/11/2001, having been registered on 9/11/2000, so maybe that planned date was considered absolutely definitive and not to be changed.)

If the envelopes had been filled in Florida, the argument goes, there might have been unintended infections of people there, and we don't see that. Or do we? What about the AMI infections? I'm not sure this really makes sense (I can't imagine them filling the envelopes in, say, a room at the AMI Building, after all), but maybe there's something here which would explain the AMI contamination?

The envelopes sent to DC had to be filled at the foreign lab where the anthrax was produced. But, the anthrax in the envelopes sent to DC was pure anthrax, and if I'm remembering correctly much more potent than the anthrax that killed Bob Stevens.

If this perp managed to infect himself with anthrax, which anthrax was it? I don't see coming in contact with anthrax of the potentcy and purity of that sent to DC and contracting cutaneous anthrax.

This is far more complicated than what we were led to believe, even laying aside the idea of domestic terrorism.

"Anyone disagree?"

Yes, but not strongly. It's possible you're right, and the envelopes were prepared in a lab. However, don't dismiss the garage theory. You don't need something like a lab-grade laminar flow hood to work with anthrax. You can build a glove box out of stuff from Home Depot—a HEPA filter, a pair of chemical gloves, some caulk and a sheet of plywood and some plexiglass—that will be perfectly effective in containing the spores and won't attract the slightest attention on purchase. After the work is done, you burn the plywood and filter cartridge and wash the gloves and plexiglass in bleach, then throw away everything.

The envelopes were "filled" in South Florida. In fact, at least one of them was mailed before the others were filled. That happened because the terrorist needed to have some more envelopes. Being your typical tight fisted young Arab he didn't want to waste money by buying a box at the grocery store (like an American), or waste money by buying too much postage.

So, he filled the envelope he had and when he got to the Boca Raton post office he mailed it in the letter drop in the lobby.

He bought several more embossed (postage affixed) envelopes at the post office, went home and filled them. These he deposited in street collection boxes.

Through normal mail processes these envelopes ended up in the Hamilton Twp. facility near Trenton NJ where they were postmarked.

Why would the terrorist wish to leave the country to pour powder in an envelope? Is the gravity different?