Anthrax threat shot down early in war (Australia)

[Barrett808]

ANTHRAX was discounted as a threat by Australian military leaders 10 days before the Iraq war started.

A controversial anthrax inoculation program for Australian soldiers and sailors was secretly suspended before the first shots were fired.

The fear of Saddam Hussein using anthrax as a weapon of mass destruction was a major factor in the war in Iraq.

But Australian defence chiefs rated the anthrax threat so low they ordered a complete stop to inoculations just two weeks after the invasion began on March 20.

They kept the decision from the Australian public, and 52 sailors and other personnel who refused the vaccine were told they were sent back to Australia for their own safety.

...

On March 10, 10 days before the start of hostilities, the Australian Defence Force stopped its inoculation program for the next rotation of ships to the Middle East pending an anthrax review.

(more)

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,7482579%255E662,00.html

[Bozola]

1. Maybe they're were refering to Saddam's plan to release

Ann "Thrax" Coulter on the innocent and unsuspecting populous of the US.