Senator Seeks Terrorist-Virus Probe

Yahoo News ^ | 9-13-2 | By DAVID GRAM, Associated Press Writer

[vannrox]

Senator Seeks Terrorist-Virus Probe

Thu Sep 12, 6:42 PM ET

By DAVID GRAM, Associated Press Writer

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - Sen. Patrick Leahy ( news, bio, voting record) urged Thursday that the government explore the possibility of a terrorist link to an outbreak of West Nile virus ( news - web sites) that has killed 54 people this year.

"I think we have to ask ourselves: Is it coincidence that we're seeing such an increase in West Nile virus or is that something that's being tested as a biological weapon against us?" said Leahy, who is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee ( news - web sites) and was the target last year of an anthrax-laden envelope sent to his office.

The Vermont Democrat made the remarks on a radio talk show broadcast on WKDR in Burlington and WDEV in Waterbury. In a statement issued later by his office, Leahy said he could point to no specific evidence that the outbreak of the mosquito-borne virus was linked to terrorism.

A spokesman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( news - web sites) said Thursday that there is no evidence to suggest an act of bioterrorism.

According to the CDC, nationally, 1,295 people have contracted the disease and 54 have died.

Leahy's office also released excerpts Thursday from previous news and congressional committee reports saying officials had downplayed the fear that the spread of West Nile virus might be the work of bioterrorists.

"In the times in which we live, questions about our vulnerabilities are unavoidable, and finding all the answers we can is more important than ever," Leahy said in the statement. "I have no way of knowing what the answers are, but some legitimate questions have been asked, especially before September 11 last year, and no doubt they are being asked anew by the agencies that are working on this."

West Nile first appeared in the United States in 1999 when an outbreak in New York killed seven people. That October, The New Yorker magazine published an article focusing on a book by an alleged Iraqi defector, who said Saddam Hussein ( news - web sites) may have developed a lethal strain of the virus to use as a biological weapon.

A report issued in July 2000 by the minority staff of the Senate Government Affairs Committee said "law enforcement, public health, and intelligence officials have investigated the possibility that West Nile virus resulted from a bioterrorist attack but believe that this is very unlikely."

Skinner, the CDC spokesman, said the cycle of the disease and its transmission — from mosquitoes to birds and to people — is what one would expect with West Nile. "All of that points to this being a naturally occurring outbreak," he said.

[hellinahandcart]

Anything to divert attention from what they need to do. Heaven forbid they try to back their President after his UN speech yesterday. Nothing but a smoke screen.

Amen!

We're about to invade Iraq, and Leahy will be busy alternately shooting down judges and screaming "What is the Bush administration doing about WEST NILE, THE REAL THREAT? 54 dead in only THREE YEARS, my God, the humanity, doesn't the President even CARE???"

I cannot believe that sensible people have fallen for this crap.

So maybe they're not sensible after all.

[areafiftyone]

Crows are pretty smart. I like them except they have a tendancy to wake me up in the morning.

[fivecatsandadog]

More than likely it came over with the many immigrants that the Clintoons let in this country. It was first diagnosed in the 1990's.

Immigrants = ME mosquitoes? With one/two possible exceptions (blood transfusion/organ donors) WNV isn't spread by human to human contact. "It takes a mosquito"

[areafiftyone]

Have you seen what comes over with immigrants? They carry everything with their clothes. I saw a program on TV that showed some pretty disgusting bugs that come in clothing boxes on cargo ships. It actually grossed me out. We get alot of our clothing from other countries and once the boxes are opened out go the bugs.

[ex-Texan]

"Yada, yada, yada, yada ..... tin foil, tin foil, tin foil, tin foil .... Naya ya ya yaaaa yaa!" ....Jerks!

I have always thought West Nile either had a terrorist link or was started by mosquitos that escaped from the Plumb Island research facility. At least the good Senator has his head screwed on straight.

[andy_card]

Crows are pretty smart. I like them except they have a tendancy to wake me up in the morning.

Filthy, disease-ridden disturbers of the Sabbath-morn.

[mewzilla]

Methinks Sen. Leahy has been watching too much Monty Python.

[hellinahandcart]

Well, as you'll see, there is at least one person who thinks Leaky Leahy "has his head screwed on straight" merely because Leahy is now pandering to his pet theory/fear.

Leahy asking for an investigation into West Nile is about as credible as McKinney asking for one about how Bush stood to profit from 9/11. I'm disgusted. I'm going to go get lunch and then scratch all my mosquito bites for a while, it's a better use of my time than this thread...

[aristeides]

Didn't the thread on this yesterday indicate that Leahy also suspects terrorism behind the anthrax letters? That seems to be missing from this AP report.

[mewzilla]

Well, I hope Leaky Leahy has hard evidence, the same kind they're demanding from 43. I want satellite photos of the mosquito training bases, darn it! Come one, Pat. Cough up.

[fivecatsandadog]

Well, I think mosquitoes are the only bugs we know of that carry WNV. From the CDC website: One of the species of mosquitoes found to carry West Nile virus is the Culex species, which survives through the winter, or "overwinters," in the adult stage. That the virus survived along with the mosquitoes was documented by the widespread transmission during the summer of 2000." So, maybe a mosquito carrying WNV rode over on a plane or cargo hold. Seems pretty remote, but guess it only takes one.

[areafiftyone]

You are right it only takes one with the virus to reproduce thousands of eggs YUK!

[Grampa Dave]

If Leaky Leahy wants to investigate the West Nile Virus, that should be proof to every conservative that the Islamakazis have absolutely nothing to do with it.

If they had anything to do with, this world class traitor who hates our intell and America would make sure that no investigation would occur.

Next,the New York Slimes, DC Compost, LA Slimes, SF GayRhonicle, Slime the non news magazine and Newsweak demanding an investigation and wanting to know when GW knew about this.

Then Jennings and Blather will go on tv an infer that we are hiding the evidence that Right Wing Whackos are responsible for the West Nile Virus in America.
They will probably infer that GW captured the crows with Dick Cheney's help and innoculated them with the virus and flew them in AF1 and released them all over America to weaken and kill Americans.

[HamiltonJay]

I dunno, I think this is nutball politics myself. This is a virus carried by animals that travel thousands of miles and then further transmitted by mosquitos which are everywhere. To me a disease carried in such a manner is certain to be acrosss the country in only a few short years.

But hey, waste my tax money on your investigation.. not like they'll do anything useful with it anyway.

[OReilly]

I -suspect this (Leahy) also

[Grampa Dave]

Ooops, my unedited reply got posted. Here is what I intended to post:

If Leaky Leahy wants to investigate the West Nile Virus, that should be proof to every conservative that the Islamakazis have absolutely nothing to do with it.

If they had anything to do with, this world class traitor who hates our intell and America would make sure that no investigation would occur.

Next, the New York Slimes, DC Compost, LA Slimes, SF GayRhonicle, Slime the non news magazine and Newsweak will be demanding an investigation and wanting to know when GW knew about this.

Then, Jennings and Blather will go on tv an infer that we are hiding the evidence that Right Wing Whackos are responsible for the West Nile Virus in America.
They will probably infer that GW captured the crows with Dick Cheney's help and innoculated them with the virus and flew them in AF1 and released them all over America to weaken and kill Americans.

[concentric circles]

Marxists in politics are laboring mightily to find issues where they can appear to support the security of the United States without actually enhancing the effectiveness of law enforcement and the military.

Its really kind of funny to watch once you have accepted the idea that they have no love for their country nor for the liberty and equality that it represents.

[texasbluebell]

I really love the crows. I miss them too. Just read yesterday that 90% of the crows in Illinois have died, and have had reports from relatives in other areas of the country that their crows are gone now too.

[areafiftyone]

They will be back. I can guarantee it. The crows were gone in Westchester too when the West Nile hit New York about a year ago. Now they are back in droves. I think the crows that see other crows dying have a tendency to fly somewhere else and come back when everything is safe.

[Darksheare]

I thought it was odd for a virus like that to show up 'on a sudden' like that without there being a kind of precursor.

Of course, I got laughed at back in 2000 when I voiced that. Some said to me that it's an inefficient way to attack people. That is true, but it's not the point. The point of introducing West Nile would be to spread panic and fear. And it's not all that hard to breed a group of virus carrying mosquitos and bring them into another country.

Laters -Darksheare