FBI Is Casting A Wider Net in Anthrax Attacks

[cal04]

Five years after the anthrax attacks that killed five people, the FBI is now convinced that the lethal powder sent to the Senate was far less sophisticated than originally believed, widening the pool of possible suspects in a frustratingly slow investigation.

The finding, which resulted from countless scientific tests at numerous laboratories, appears to undermine the widely held belief that the attack was carried out by a government scientist or someone with access to a U.S. biodefense lab.

What was initially described as a near-military-grade biological weapon was ultimately found to have had a more ordinary pedigree, containing no additives and no signs of special processing to make the anthrax bacteria more deadly, law enforcement officials confirmed. In addition, the strain of anthrax used in the attacks has turned out to be more common than was initially believed, the officials said.

As a result, after a very public focus on government scientists as the likely source of the attacks, the FBI is today casting a far wider net, as investigators face the daunting prospect of an almost endless list of possible suspects in scores of countries around the globe.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/24/AR2006092401014.html

[savemefromdumbya]

1. Baloney

[Kablooie]

7. You're wrong. It's not baloney...

it's pure bullshit.

I could swallow a little baloney, but bullshit ...

[savemefromdumbya]

31. Ok bullshit

[razors edge]

2. Great, they should have this

wrapped up by dinner tomorrow eh?

[NYC]

3. Cold case file?

A stroll down memory lane? Five years ago. I'm surprised they even mentioned it again.

I'm sure the little people in the FBI want to solve the crime. I doubt anyone higher does.

[TomInTib]

4. Endless enemies. This is just bullshit.

Trying to re-define the test results is a joke.

[ShortnFiery]

5. Who are they planning on charging next, the night shift cleaning lady?

Dumb Asses! :thumbsdown:

[UpInArms]

6. ask Dimson why he was prescribed Cipro on 9/11/01

Bush Administration Stonewalls On Production ofDocuments Concerning Decision to Put Staff on Cipro Beginning September 11, 2001

(Washington, DC) Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government abuse and corruption, said today that the Bush administration has failed to provide a complete and accurate response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request concerning the decision to place White House staff on a regimen of the powerful antibiotic, Cipro, the same day as the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. By contrast, U.S. Postal Service workers from Washington, DC’s Brentwood Postal Facility – Judicial Watch clients – were denied antibiotic treatment, even after it became apparent that the Brentwood facility had been contaminated. Judicial Watch represents the Brentwood Postal workers in various legal proceedings against government officials who put their lives in jeopardy. So far, 8 postal workers have died and hundreds remain harmed by the lethal exposure.

Despite multiple press reports confirming that White House staff began use of Cipro on September 11, 2001, the incomplete and evasive FOIA response from The White House consisted of a paltry, four e-mail messages and an “administrative alert” concerning testing procedures in reaction to the anthrax deaths of two postal workers, all of which were dated October 23 and October 24, 2001. Judicial Watch has appealed the FOIA response and will take strong legal action to uncover the truth despite the obstructionist tactics of the administration.

...more...

[DoYouEverWonder]

21. Not why but who recommended that the WH take Cipro?

On 9/11/06 Jerome Hauer advised the WH to start taking Cipro.

Hauer is an interesting fellow who really gets around. He was the director and main force behind building Rudy Giuliani's OEM bunker in WTC 7, which was destroyed on 9-11. Part of this bunker was an elaborate back up energy system that included large tanks of diesel fuel in the sublevel of the building which powered generators on the 5th floor and day tanks in other parts of the building.

Hauer was also the one who got John O'Neill his job heading security for the WTC, had dinner with him the night before and then found O'Neill's body in the rubble and was the only person to ID him.

Too many coincidences for one human to be involved in, IMHO.

[UpInArms]

28. coincidence? check out this google search result

http://www.google.com/search?client=opera&rls=en&q=%22Jerome+Hauer%22+%22marvin+bush%22&sourceid=opera&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

[DoYouEverWonder]

50. Yep, Hauer is one of the key people

who made 9-11 happen, down to figuring out how to take down the buildings.

He insisted on installing a pressurized fuel system that covered most of the 5th Floor of WTC7, despite the fact the FDNY told him it was not a good idea and could endanger the entire building. Oh, they didn't bother to put in any fire suppression for this system either, despite the fact that they ran it right under the tresses and support beams that held up the building.

[sofa king]

58. Fascinating.

A company called VaxGen has an $800+ million contract to supply 75 million doses of anthrax vaccine. But they're having trouble filling the order. It was due by "fourth quarter" 2006, but this article suggests it won't be ready in time, or anytime soon. VaxGen has been delisted from Nasdaq for financial irregularities.

In the meantime, Hauer has rolled through the revolving door and now sits on the board of Emergent Biosolutions. EB is the parent company of BioPort, which once had a big contract to supply anthrax vaccine to the U.S. Army. BioPort also bid on the 75 million dose contract, but lost, and they're having problems with the FDA as well.

That didn't stop BioPort from beginning work on a manufacturing facility capable of delivering 100 million doses of their now-obsolete vaccine in Frederick, MD.

The CEO of BioPort is Fuad El-Hibri. According to this guy, who can't spell "Carlyle," Fuad worked on mergers and acquisitions for Citibank, where he worked for both George H. W. Bush's Carlyle Group and (of course) the bin Laden family.

But with a contract for only 5 million doses, it looks as if BioPort is going to need a miracle of some sort to reach full capacity. Some sort of miracle which requires many millions of doses of an older, inferior and reputedly dangerous vaccine to be created in vast numbers.

The Frederick BioPort plant is scheduled to open... just about now.

[sofa king]

51. ...Or why Judith Miller was writing about anthrax on September 4, 2001?

And not just any anthrax. Scooter Libby's buddy was writing about Pentagon anthrax, before the September 11 attacks, before the anthrax was sent out.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9E02E1D71639F937A3575AC0A9679C8B63&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fPeople%2fE%2fEngelberg%2c%20Stephen

("U.S. Germ Warfare Research Pushes Treaty Limits," by Judith Miller, Stephen Engleberg, and Willian J. Broad.
Published: September 4, 2001)

"Earlier this year, administration officials said, the Pentagon drew up plans to engineer genetically a potentially more potent variant of the bacterium that causes anthrax, a deadly disease ideal for germ warfare."

Miller was also the recipient of one of the only anthrax hoax mails so be sent to a media outlet at roughly the same time as the real anthrax letters. The fascinating result is that Miller's pre-9/11 reporting on the issue is http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=%22judith+miller%22+anthrax&btnG=Search">all but forgotten by Google.

The 2001 anthrax attacks have all the hallmarks of an operation. It lasted but a short time, shut down without a trace, and has yet to be repeated (until next week, maybe?). That would appear to rule out a Unabomber-type psycho compelled to repeat his crimes, and if it were the "terrorists," why did they so suddenly stop when the attacks had such dramatic effect?

The only obvious beneficiary of the attacks is the Bush Administration, which got its Patriot Act as a direct result of the anthrax letters to the Senate, added to the fear and anguish of the American people, and distracted media and FBI attention from things like how the WTC-7 building fell down all by itself on 9/11.

[The_Casual_Observer]

8. My thought at the time was that it wasn't anthrax at all

and had been misidentified & the postal worker& other deaths were coincidental, caused by the flu or something. It is interesting to see that they are finally backing off of the weapons grade claim. I am probably mistaken, but unless anthrax is highly processed & weapons grade, it isn't found in powdered form at all.

[pitohui]

12. this is definitely not correct

the postal worker deaths were definitely anthrax, this disease is very easy to identify and diagnose because of its unique signatures

many people have died of the flu and i have known some who did, but i have never known anyone who was permanently brain damaged as a result of the flu (as happened to at least one postal worker who "recovered") nor have i known the flu to cause those highly recognizable black lesions

too many doctors across too many widespread areas, with the CDC taking cultures of all, for this to be anything BUT anthrax

there was an attack, 5 people died, many others were injured, at least one for life, we don't need to give them any "outs" for not having arrested and prosecuted the criminal after 5 long years

[The_Casual_Observer]

18. The whole thing diappeared from the news so quickly it was

hard to follow the facts.

[dipsydoodle]

23. I don't think it's in any particular from

This was on an animal hide : http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/08/16/anthrax_death/ I'm guessing it activated when he soaked the skin. It made me a bit cautious about the heads I have fitted to banjos !

A TV documentary we had here some few years back, prior to 9/11, which featured some US homegrown nutcases pointed out you could find the spores in dead cattle which had died of that and had been buried years ago - all you had to do was dig them up.

[truthisfreedom]

9. i don't get it. what powers are involved in dredging this back up after

it was seemingly quashed? what if this story is true... who is behind the push for opening it back up?

[uppityperson]

11. If they had the power to tap everyone's phones, to search everyone's

homes, without having to spend time getting a pesky warrant, I bet they would have solved it by now. See?

:sarcasm:

[pitohui]

13. 5 people were murdered, at least 1 other brain damaged

that isn't good enough to keep the case open?

they should not rest until the attacker is found, prosecuted, and jailed

we just had a murderer today finally convicted in my parish, he almost certainly killed his first wife in the 70s, he killed his 2nd wife in 1996, it took all these years to hunt down the evidence and prosecute and convict this killer in the death of his 2nd wife and they will never be able to get sufficient proof of the murder of the 1st -- and in the mean time he had married a 3rd time

i wonder how long no. 3 would have lasted if not for his conviction

there is a good reason to keep hunting killers to the bitter end, they are dangerous and unpleasnt people

[truthisfreedom]

53. hey, i applaud it. don't get me wrong.

i'm on your side, not the republan's.

[NOLADEM]

24. Time to pin it on a patsy

Long enough has passed for revisionist history to begin.

First, they are trying to pin 9/11 on Clinton somehow.

Next, they will pin their black-op anthrax attack on some unsuspecting brown person so they can change that attack from a government black-op to a true terror attack they have solved.

They are truly the most disgusting, heartless, criminial cabal in the history of this country.

[NashVegas]

29. Don't Worry, It Will Go Back Away After November

..

[truthisfreedom]

54. ahh, your theory is that they're showing that they feel for the Democrats

who were affected by this? since, remember, only Democratic politicians were sent anthrax, except for the National Enquirer, who had published photos of bush that irritated the Republans.

[daleo]

10. But what about Powell's white powder?

I mean, he waved it around at the U.N. and everything.

[MadMaddie]

14. Anthrax.....?????oh yea it's an election cycle.....

they are going to do some investigaten and will have suspects by the end October...

[Virginian]

15. Undisclosed location

I think it has been disclosed that Cheney's 9/11 undisclosed location was near Camp David, right? Anthrax is also tested and controlled near Camp David at Fort Dietrich, Right? Hmmm

Ordinarily, I would think that thought was too absurd to consider, but this is Dick (Darth) Cheney we are talking about.

[DoYouEverWonder]

22. It was another inside job

See my post #21.

Funny thing, the letters were all postmarked 9-11-01.

[savemefromdumbya]

32. Frederick MD

[Dem2theMax]

16. There goes * .

Keepin' us safer. :sarcasm:

[Garbo 2004]

17. I suspect the FBI doesn't have to search all that much for overseas

connections. I suspect they'll much be closer to home. Look at the targets.

[lumpy]

19. My first thought when it was mentioned that the

FBI was looking overseas. The political targets were Democrats. Homegrown terrorism for sure.

[Old and In the Way]

20. It was.....(drumroll, please)..........

the IRANIANS! Nuke 'em!

Seriously, I remember reading that Cipro was not recommended as a preventitive therapy. Was there anthrax contamination found at the WH? Maybe Poppy got his stash out when he slumbered there, the night before?

[Gman]

25. No one mentions anymore that it was Democrats and liberals

that got the anthrax. No one mentions the assasination attempts of Democratic US Senators.

[leesa]

26. What crap. They identified exactly which military lab it came from.

There's a tape of a (then)recently fired suspect entering the lab whom they have never pursued. It was an inside government hit.

[theEmpireNeverEnded]

30. Paging Dr. Zack

You're probably thinking about this suspect:


http://www.tpmcafe.com/story/2006/1/23/20949/8628

[tanyev]

27. When the facts don't fit the conclusions,

some people prefer to change the facts.

[Efilroft Sul]

33. Then cast the net toward the Bush clan or its supporters.

They're the only ones with the opportunity, resources, and motive to have done these attacks.

Who benefits from fear?

George W. Bush. Look who got the Patriot Act ASAP.

[guruoo]

34. Preemptive damage control -a Rove trademark

They must believe that the truth is about to break.

[sofa king]

57. Or new letters are in the mail.

Yeah, it's paranoid as hell, but look at how Judy Miller was seeding the field with bioweapons stories even before 9/11. Look at how Scooter got his Cipro prescription a week before the letters were even sent. Then look at how she seeded the field with WMD bullshit prior to the invasion of Iraq.

What if they're saying "we don't know who it is now" so we don't say "we know it's YOU" when the October surprise shows up in the mail? Come to think of it, if it's the same stuff, it should be in the mail already.

[ripple]

35. But I thought we hadn't had another terror attack

on US soil since 9/11!

:sarcasm:

[Supersedeas]

48. right down the Media Memory hole -- it's only an attack if Rove says so

[wagthedogwar]

36. FBI widens net in anthrax attack

By Allan Lengel and Joby Warrick
Updated: 10:02 a.m. ET Sept. 25, 2006

"Five years after the anthrax attacks that killed five people, the FBI is now convinced that the lethal powder sent to the Senate was simply made and contained nothing that conclusively links the case to any specific source, widening the pool of possible suspects in a frustratingly slow investigation. Whoever made the powder produced a deadly project of exceptional purity and quality but used none of the methods known to military bioweapons scientists to increase the lethality of the product. Officials stressed that the terrorist would have had to have considerable skills in microbiology and access to equipment."--like say, the bugman, Tom Delay.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14991957/

*DeLay received a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in biology from the University of Houston in 1970. He spent three years working for Redwood Chemical before founding Albo Pest Control. This work was the source for his nickname "the Exterminator". In the eleven years for which DeLay ran the company, the IRS imposed tax liens on him three times for not paying payroll and income taxes. The Environmental Protection Agency's ban on a certain pesticide that was used in extermination work led DeLay to oppose government regulations.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_DeLay

[NOLADEM]

37. I like the cut of your jib sir, and wish to subscribe to your newsletter

[wagthedogwar]

43. the best place to hide anything is right out in the open

to receive copies of our newsletter, please send $9 billion,cash only to:

The Catapulter, P.O.Box 911, Langley VA. 23666

[babylonsister]

38. Does anyone find the timing suspect, anthrax being

'rejuvenated' suddenly?

[Warpy]

41. I find the whole thing highly suspect

Who's the head of the FBI these days? How much does he owe the Bush family?

The strain was the Ames strain, and the variation of that strain was traced directly to the CIA bioweapons lab at Ft Detrick.

This was established 5 years ago. Do these clowns really think we forgot that?

It was weaponized anthrax, which volatizes quickly. That's why they had to close office buildings and decontaminate air ducts. Remember that part?

Ordinary anthrax spores are HEAVY and do not volatize. It's difficult to get the pulmonary anthrax that killed several people from non weaponized anthrax. The skin disease is much easier to get from the natural spores.

This stinks of coverup, of whitewash, of covering the White House's collective ass, or even Poppy's ass.

[babylonsister]

42. Isn't Mueller still head FBI guy?

Maybe Anthrax is yet another distraction; it reeks of terra, but it doesn't start with an "I".

[rodeodance]

55. i would think they would keep it quiety before an election since they

are cold on the trail-------Unless they are not cold???? would be just in the 'nick of time" if solved folks.

[Atman]

39. Not only is this NOT Late Breaking News, it is BULLSHIT.

I posted this story on DU a week ago. Suddenly, it is all over the news. BULLSHIT BULLSHIT BULLSHIT. This is just another way of saying "we got nothing." How convenient...all of a sudden, after six years, the anthrax attack could have been pulled off by ANYONE! Yeah, right. Anyone, as long as you promise not to look too closely in the direction of BushCo.

[babylonsister]

44. It does make me wonder what their motive is for bringing it up

now.

[kestrel91316]

46. Feeble attempt at a Pre-October Surprise?

[MrModerate]

40. Widening the net . . . as in "widening the holes in the net"?

I mean, c'mon, it's been 5 years and they don't seem to have a clue. You want something just begging for a conspiracy theory to grow up around it, the anthrax attax would be perfect.

[Generator]

45. Wow that was fast!

I smell a medal ceremony.

[guruoo]

47. Blurb on NPR now: 'FBI says it wasn't weapons grade after all'

[HuffleClaw]

49. why not simply say NOW they are gonna try and pin this on IRAN??

what a joke.

[wagthedogwar]

52. this must be what carjacking feels like

thanks a lot

[Zhade]

56. "an almost endless list of possible suspects"

If you're not terrified, read it again.