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MAG: Mailed Anthrax 'More Sophisticated Than Any Form Previously Known'
Newsweek via MSNBC ^ | 4/7/02 | Mark Hosenball, John Barry and Daniel Klaidman

Posted on 04/07/2002 8:49:09 AM PDT by Brian Mosely

Edited on 09/03/2002 4:50:15 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]

Last fall FBI profilers announced that the person who sent deadly anthrax-laced letters to news organizations and Capitol Hill was probably a grudge-bearing, sociopathic male laboratory nerd with knowledge of the geography of Trenton, N.J. But a new scientific analysis sent to top government officials suggests the anthrax attacker may be a scientific whiz so smart that he succeeded in making a

(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.com ...


TOPICS: Anthrax Scare; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: anthraxscarelist
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To: sourcery
I am no expert in this area, but I have been told that this could all be done in someone's garage, using equipment whose cost is not beyond the means of a reasonably well-to-do individual.

You have been misinformed.

61 posted on 04/07/2002 3:10:16 PM PDT by The Great Satan
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To: The Great Satan
Source?
62 posted on 04/07/2002 3:15:28 PM PDT by sourcery
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Comment #63 Removed by Moderator

To: sourcery
"Contrary to what was initially out there at the beginning of the investigation, this anthrax, we do not believe, was made up in a garage or a bathtub," Harp [assistant FBI director in charge of the anthrax investigation] said. (Anthrax terror remains a mystery)

64 posted on 04/07/2002 3:27:22 PM PDT by The Great Satan
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To: The Great Satan
From the story you linked to:

Army connection?

One of the labs capable of producing anthrax spores is the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick, Maryland.

"When you think of where did anthrax possibly come from, you have to think of our laboratory," said Maj. Gen. John Parker, who until his retirement last week oversaw the team of scientists at the lab assigned to the FBI case.

Over the years, Fort Detrick shared its anthrax with others labs for research purposes. In the 1990s, there was a series of security lapses.

It also has a long history of training highly skilled scientists, leading some to suggest the spores or even the anthrax killer might be associated with the lab.

Barbara Rosenberg, a microbiologist with the State University of New York at Purchase, accuses the FBI of stalling to protect government secrets.

"There may be embarrassing information connected with the entire event and there may not be real enthusiasm about bringing this information out to the public," she said.

The FBI hotly rejects such suggestions.

"Those are uninformed ... outsiders," Harp said.

As for Assistant Director Hart's expertise ---

Van Harp, special agent in charge of the FBI's Cleveland bureau, defended Kroner and Lynch in a press release, saying, "Their entire careers in the FBI have been dedicated to fighting organized crime and public corruption and making Youngstown a better place to live."

From James Traficant Threatens to Sue Department of Justice. Hart appears to be an ordinary FBI gumshoe, probably a lawyer or an accountant, and unlikely to know what he's talking about.

65 posted on 04/07/2002 3:56:12 PM PDT by Lessismore
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To: right_to_defend; anthrax_scare_list
If the sender had decided to actually use his anthrax as a weapon - in a crowded shopping mall. I don't even wnat to think about how many would have died - it would have made 9/11 look like a picnic.

That might have been true in September or October, but if it's still true now it's because of official negligence. With sufficient stockpiles of the already existing anthrax antitoxin, we can neutralize this threat, and save the lives of the great majority of those exposed to anthrax.

66 posted on 04/07/2002 4:01:57 PM PDT by aristeides
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To: aristeides
Do have any references that such an antitoxin is available, is safe for humans, can be easily mass-produced, and could be distributed to millions of potential victims in time to make a serious dent in the casualties? I would really like to hear about it, if such a thing exists.
67 posted on 04/07/2002 4:05:23 PM PDT by The Great Satan
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To: right_to_defend
If the sender had decided to actually use his anthrax as a weapon - in a crowded shopping mall. I don't even wnat to think about how many would have died - it would have made 9/11 look like a picnic.
The sender could have killed a lot of people. Why didn't he since he obviously wouldn't get caught? Could it have been some disgruntled scientist proving a point? Or a disgruntled Muslim scientist associating it with Atta (as in Muslim traitor)? It could one crazy anti Muslim and American who did it. I wish the media and the government were more open and honest about this.
68 posted on 04/07/2002 4:09:37 PM PDT by Jaidyn
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To: Lessismore
Hart appears to be an ordinary FBI gumshoe, probably a lawyer or an accountant, and unlikely to know what he's talking about.

Which makes it interesting that he would be "in charge" of the investigation, given the stakes involved. Of course, the "investigation" is a sham -- Bush and Cheney have never been in any doubt about where the anthrax came from, nor did the sender make any great effort to hide his identity. After all, Bush has to know who he's not supposed to hit, right?

The New York Times blew the gaffe on the real nature of this anthrax -- and it ain't no bathtub brew -- six months ago: Contradicting Some U.S. Officials, 3 Scientists Call Anthrax Powder High-Grade. The same Times reporter, William J. Broad, recently did it again, revealing that one of the 9-11 hijackers sought treatment for cutaneous anthrax, a fact known to the authorities but kept from the public since last October: Report Linking Anthrax and Hijackers Is Investigated.

69 posted on 04/07/2002 4:14:09 PM PDT by The Great Satan
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To: The Great Satan
Antitoxin Proposal: Another Possible, Last-Ditch Way of Treating Anthrax

I see no reason why the method couldn't be mass-produced. The method is to inject the toxin in question into livestock like horses, and to extract the resulting antitoxin. This is the classical method of producing antitoxins, and it is the method still used for the botulin antitoxin that the CDC stockpiles. I see no reason why large quantities of the antitoxin could not be produced in this way. According to the linked story, China seems able to produce adequate quantities. I would imagine it might be possible today to buy large quantities of the antitoxin from China and/or Russia.

I wouldn't say the antitoxin is exactly safe for humans. The chief complication is serum sickness. But I think that a bad reaction is a whole lot better than dying. And the CDC finds the risk acceptable with its botulism antitoxin, which presents precisely the same risk of serum sickness.

For a graphic description of the effectiveness of anthrax antitoxin, read Ken Alibek's Biohazard. In the book, Alibek describes how one of his coworkers was dying of anthrax (cutaneous, but on his neck, so that the swelling was cutting off his breathing,) when he was saved by a timely administration of "antiserum."

70 posted on 04/07/2002 4:30:01 PM PDT by aristeides
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To: aristeides
I can only hope we can come up with something, and fast. It's not as if we haven't been trying to crack this for years already, however. The Army's anthrax vaccination program just restarted. Given how controversial the safety of that vaccine has been, I can't imagine the program would be going forward if a "magic bullet" for anthrax were close at hand.
71 posted on 04/07/2002 4:59:21 PM PDT by The Great Satan
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To: Ranger; Brian Mosely
The anthrax attack was not undertaken via "packages" - the attackers used plain old letters. In fact, they used exactly the same kind you can get at the local post office.

Secondly, not a single one of the letters was demonstrated to have "originated" in New Jersey.

Sure enough the letters were postmarked there, and they contaminated machinery, but there was no contamination in any mail acceptance equipment or areas.

On the other hand, evidence of actual mailing was found in Florida.

I have covered how this probably happened in depth several times on other anthrax threads. What you need to do is make a search for "Muawiyah" and "anthrax" and "postal".

72 posted on 04/07/2002 5:00:54 PM PDT by muawiyah
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To: The Great Satan
First, if the hijackers had been in contact with anthrax, it is unlikely that two of them would show up in an emergency room. More likely one would go and get an antibiotic under some other pretext than showing an anthrax infection to a doctor.

Second, the ER doctor must have a remarkable memory to ID two guys he saw over four months ago. More likely he was prompted.

Third, there is no reliable chain of custody of the medical record -- the FBI brought it to the doctor.

This is most likely a planted story.

73 posted on 04/07/2002 5:12:00 PM PDT by Lessismore
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To: The Great Satan; betty jo
Given how controversial the safety of that vaccine has been, I can't imagine the program would be going forward if a "magic bullet" for anthrax were close at hand.

I think you're underestimating the extent to which business and profits drive U.S. government actions. On the importance of such business considerations with respect to government decisions about the anthrax vaccine, I recommend reading Germs, by Judith Miller et al.

74 posted on 04/07/2002 5:12:56 PM PDT by aristeides
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To: right_to_defend
State sponsorship? Yes, that does seem likely, assuming the information in the article we are discussing is accurate. However, it doesn't rule out the "mad scientist" scenario, especially if he obtains his powdered anthrax from state stockpiles. And the "state" in such case could very well be our own.

The main reason I entertain the "mad scientist" scenario is because I am very suspicious of the notion that Saddam (or his equivalent in other places) is so clueless as to think that the anthrax letter attacks would do anything more than buy a few years time before the hammer of doom falls with a resounding thud. As I have said, perhaps some country's leadership has miscalculated in this instance, but I don't think that's where the smart money will be placing its bets--not without evidence that is stronger and more credible than has been publicly reported.

One thought does occur to me, however: suppose that Saddam believes that in, say, two years time, he will have some new, improved WMD that the US won't be able to deal with anytime soon. In such a case, he might very well use his anthrax weapon to buy time until his other superweapon is ready. Just a thought.

75 posted on 04/07/2002 5:16:59 PM PDT by sourcery
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To: Lessismore
Careful! Your tin-foil hat is on too tight. Obviously it's cut off the oxygen supply to your brain.
76 posted on 04/07/2002 5:17:50 PM PDT by The Great Satan
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To: aristeides
I guess I think you're out-to-lunch on this. Read the article you linked. It provides no justification whatsoever for believing a cure for anthrax is at hand.
77 posted on 04/07/2002 5:19:51 PM PDT by The Great Satan
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To: The Great Satan
My tin-foil hat is adjusted just right. Your's must be askew.
78 posted on 04/07/2002 5:26:57 PM PDT by Lessismore
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To: Lessismore
Let's hear your theory. Details please. I'm all ears.
79 posted on 04/07/2002 5:29:13 PM PDT by The Great Satan
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To: The Great Satan
I've reread that article at your prompting, but it still seems to me to say (as it did at my earlier readings) that the antitoxin would be an effective treatment. Why do you say otherwise?

The antitoxin is a particularly attractive treatment because the effectiveness of vaccines is highly questionable. Besides the side-reactions, there is doubt about whether the vaccine would be effective at all against respiratory anthrax, and in any case a vaccine might well not be effective against new strains of anthrax. But all strains of anthrax presumably produce the same toxin, and that means the antitoxin would be effective against all of them.

80 posted on 04/07/2002 5:37:07 PM PDT by aristeides
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