[Nogbad]

Because it suggests that someone somewhere has cultured large vats of anthrax
over substantial periods of time
(otherwise genetic variation is unlikely to have emerged).

Possibly. But a few weeks back Keri suggested
that they are beginning to believe
that anthrax may mutate more rapidly
than previously was thought.

In any case, there has been little doubt in my mind
for a long time now,
that the anthrax was not made in the USA.

The very notion seems absurd.

[Mitchell]

Possibly. But a few weeks back Keri suggested that they are beginning to believe that anthrax may mutate more rapidly than previously was thought.

Yes, that could be correct. But it's still hard to imagine rapid mutation while in the spore state. And the existence of genetic variation among the samples almost certainly would eliminate the idea that somebody simply stole a sample, doled it out into the envelopes, and mailed them out. In any case, Keim's earlier work showed anthrax to be among the most genetically stable organisms ever studied.