I believe some sort of warning of possible consequences of bio-terrorism to be the least likely of all the anthrax attack scenarios -- a warning was not the intent of those attacks. What are the chances a scientist/terrorist had everything prepared to initiate a highly organized anthrax attack on the United States almost simultaneously with the 9/11 attacks? Of the possibility that a scientist wanted to issue a wake-up call about the bioterrorism threat and it went out of control, FBI Assistant Director Michael Mason told a news conference, "That's a possible theory, but it's all conjecture." Asked why there had been no other attacks, Mason said, "I suppose the leading thought might be the person didn't intend to cause harm, and did." Anthrax Mailer May Not Have Intended Harm WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The deadly 2001 U.S. anthrax attacks may have been carried out by someone who did not intend to cause any harm, a top FBI official said on Monday. Of the possibility that a scientist wanted to issue a wake-up call about the bioterrorism threat and it went out of control, FBI Assistant Director Michael Mason told a news conference, "That's a possible theory, but it's all conjecture." Asked why there had been no other attacks, Mason said, "I suppose the leading thought might be the person didn't intend to cause harm, and did." The FBI has been investigating anthrax-laced letters that were mailed to the news media and politicians in September and October 2001, which resulted in five deaths in a country already shaken by the Sept. 11 attacks. Mason, who recently took over as head of the Washington field office and the anthrax probe, said the FBI has made some refinements, but no fundamental changes, to the profile of the person believed responsible for the attacks. According to the profile, the FBI said the person probably was an adult male who may have worked in a laboratory or had a scientific background. He was suspected of working alone. Mason rejected criticism that the investigation has languished. He said 27 FBI agents, and U.S. Postal Service investigators, continued to work on the investigation, conducting interviews and following scientific leads. More investigation remained to be done. "There's still much work to be done before we can say with certainty what it may have taken to commit this crime," Mason said.
Sorry to highjack the thread but... I'm unemployed. And someone is getting paid big bucks to tell us the culprit was "probably" an adult male scientist? Let me go out on a limb...he's "probably" white. Where do I apply for this job?
Please use a blank quote -- those are certainly not my thoughts on the situation. I believe that 9/11 and the anthrax attacks are some how related -- how i'm not sure, but it is too much of a coincidence. Beyond that I don't want to speculate any further on what is a very bizarre situation.
I'll try to remember using blank quotes but it seemed reasonable to me that anyone reading your post would not have attributed the quoted quote to you. You will have to go a long way to convince me that the 9/11 WTC attack and the anthrax mails had the same origins...the Middle East. By all reasonable accounts, 9/11 is attributable to a group headed by Bin Laden. And in hindsight, there were many overlooked markers to the 19 highjackers...for example - we were able to trace many of their movements like Atta back and forth to Germany and his monetary supplements, etc. To my knowledge, there has never been any retrospective analysis to some lab in Afghanistan or Saudi Arabia. One question that would immediately come into my mind... What is the "shelf-life" of the anthrax virus? How long can it survive in everyday life? What is the effect of x-ray or ultra-violet light? I ask this to broaden the possibility that 9/11 and the anthrax mails were mutually exclusive events that just happened to share the same time frame. IOW, in my mind an anthrax virus of domestic origin may have needed to be put into use within a certain timeframe. Convince me 'cause I just don't see that connection. Especially now that we have insight into Afghanistan and Iraq.
We'll never know. The asshats in the White House won't allow an investigation. I don't know what these guys are hiding, but I'd wager it's more than a blowjob.
It's just an opinion of mine I don't think I could convince anyone really-- there just isn't enough information. The only way Al Qaeda terrorists could really obtain (I can't see them making this stuff) the high grade anthrax that was used would be a 3rd party -- perhaps a former Soviet state, but that is just pure speculation. Here is a timeline of some of the anthrax attacks --- Timeline of Florida 2001 anthrax attack (Redirected from 2001 anthrax attack/Florida timeline) Boca Raton, Florida September 19, 2001: A letter addressed to Jennifer Lopez containing a Star of David and a bluish powder arrived in the Sun's mailroom. Several people handled the letter, and Stevens sniffed some of the powder. September 30: Stevens began feeling ill on the last day of a five-day vacation at his daughter's home in North Carolina October 1: 6 a.m. EDT Stevens returned to his home. He spent most of the day in bed. October 2: 2-2:30 a.m. EDT Stevens was admitted to the John F. Kennedy Hospital emergency room in Atlantis, Florida. presenting disorientation, a high fever, vomiting, and inability to speak. 6 a.m. EDT Stevens was placed on a ventilator. Stevens was examined for meningitis by infectious-disease specialist Dr. Larry Bush. Bush found a high white blood cell count and rod-shaped bacilli; he soon was convinced Stevens had contracted anthrax. He then notified the Palm Beach County Health Department. October 3: In the evening, government investigators, including 12 investigators from the CDC, some from the Epidemic Intelligence Service, began their investigation into Stevens' movements of the last few days and potential sources of the anthrax. The hospital ships spinal fluid samples to state health officials and the CDC. October 4: The CDC confirmed the anthrax diagnosis. Federal officials announced that Stevens was admitted to a hospital on Tuesday with non-contagious pulmonary anthrax. HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson suggested Stevens may have contracted anthrax from drinking water from a contaminated stream, a medically far-fetched theory. October 5 4 p.m. EDT: Mr. Stevens died. Sunday, October 7 In the afternoon, the government sealed the American Media building. In the evening, Bacillus anthracis spores were found on a computer keyboard Stevens used at the offices of The Sun. Anthrax spores were detected in the nasal passages of Ernesto Blanco, 73, mail supervisor at The Sun. The authorities decided to test all employees in the building. Monday, October 8 9 a.m. EDT 1,000 people, American Media employees or other long-term visitors, underwent nasal swab tests and began taking antibiotics from the National Pharmaceutical Stockpile. Tuesday, October 9 American Media employees underwent blood tests. Wednesday, October 10 8 p.m. EDT: Officials announced that a third American Media employee tested positive for exposure to anthrax. The CDC laboratories, located in Atlanta, suffered a power failure caused by a short-circuited cable which lasted until Thursday morning. Thursday, October 11 Stephanie Dailey, 36, the third American Media employee to test positive, identified herself and stated that she was in good health. Saturday, October 13 American Media stated that the blood tests of five more employees, including two Inquirer employees, tested positive for anthrax antibodies. Monday, October 15 Ernesto Blanco was diagnosed with pulmonary anthrax, and moved to the intensive care unit. The Florida Department of Health announced that a minuscule amount of spores were found in the Boca Raton post office. They were found in a small mail sorting area where mail for American Media is handled, specifically in the throwback slot of the letter case for the American Media route. The room was sealed and cleaned. Tuesday, October 16: It is reported that the anthrax bacteria sent to NBC is of the same strain as that found in Boca Raton.
Here is more of the timeline from New York & New Jersey --- Timeline of New York 2001 anthrax attack (Redirected from 2001 anthrax attack/New York timeline) New York City and New Jersey September 18, 2001: A letter containing anthrax is postmarked from Trenton, New Jersey to Tom Brokaw. A secretary in the New Jersey governor's office received a FedEx package containing a stamped letter addressed to Tom Brokaw. She put it in the mail. As of October 16, it is unknown if that was the letter containing anthrax. September 25, 2001: Erin O'Connor, an NBC Nightly News employee, 38, an assistant to Tom Brokaw, opens a letter postmarked from Trenton containing a brown granular substance. The letter was addressed with crude handwritten block letters, with no return address. She is the mother of a toddler and wife of a NYPD police officer. September 28: A female freelance producer for ABC World News Tonight takes her seven-month-old son to a birthday party in the ABC offices on W. 66th St. They visited the World News Tonight offices on the second floor and a tape-editing room on the third floor. O'Connor develops a low-grade fever and a rash on her collarbone. September 29: The child began presenting symptoms of fever, swelling on one arm, and an ulcer on one elbow. The mother suspects an infected spider bite. October 1: The child is admitted to New York University Medical Center. O'Connor begins receiving Cipro. A 20-something female CBS News aide, who handles mail for Dan Rather in an office next to his, came into work with a mosquito-bite sized mark on her left cheek. She is allergic to bug bites. October 2: The CBS News aide goes to a doctor after the mark begins swelling. October 4: The CBS News aide's doctor prescribes penicillin, and the swelling slowly subsides. October 10: A skin biopsy is taken from O'Connor and sent to the CDC. Friday, October 12, a case of anthrax is reported in New York City. O'Connor is reported to have cutaneous anthrax. Another letter from St. Petersburg contained a white powder which tested negative for anthrax. The third floor of 30 Rockefeller Center, where the employee works, is sealed by authorities. The FBI is conducting a criminal investigation. Sunday, October 14: A police officer and two lab technicians who handled the letter were found to have been exposed to anthrax. The officer and one of the lab technicians tested positive for anthrax in their nasal passages; the other technician had anthrax on the face. None were found to be infected. Monday, October 15, evening: Tests done by the CDC confirm that the baby had anthrax. New York City officials and David Westin, president of ABC News announce that the 7-month-old baby of an ABC World News Tonight producer contracted cutaneous anthrax. Tuesday, October 16: It is reported that the anthrax bacteria sent to NBC is of the same strain as that found in Boca Raton. Furthermore, the letters sent to Tom Brokaw at NBC and the letter sent to Tom Daschle's office in Washington reportedly show similarities in handwriting. Wednesday, October 17: Anthrax is found in the New York City office of Governor George Pataki. Reportedly the anthrax was found in a room used by his State Police security detail that is not open to the public. Pataki closes his offices and begins taking Cipro in response, which many health experts and journalistic commentators call irresponsible overkill. Federal health officials state that the NBC anthrax is the same strain as the American Media anthrax. Thursday, October 18, morning: Andrew Heyward, CBS News president, announces that a female employee of CBS News who handles mail, contracted cutaneous anthrax. Giuliani announced that 350 samples from the NBC offices were tested negative for anthrax, giving a total of approximately 850 negative tests so far. 59 of 70 samples from ABC were tested negative; the rest are pending. Later numbers from the same day: 1100 results, all negative from 1304 taken from NBC employees. New Jersey acting governor Donald DiFrancesco announced that a Hamilton Township postal worker tested positive for cutaneous anthrax.
One theory has been that it is very embarassing for the US to investigate this too closely as it would involve showing that the US was violating chemical weapon treaties that it has signed off on by continuing to do research of weaponizing anthrax. It is incredible that this has not been talked about more.
Should I deduct from this scenario that the virus would then have been of domestic origin? underoverup - Sharing the same relative timeline does not connect two events. You may ultimately uncover a connection which links the two events, but a shared timeline is not evidence enough. I will repeat my original point - the events (as they are currently understood) are mutually exclusive events which occurred within a similar time frame.
I'm not trying to convince you either way that these two incidents are related, as I stated before there is not enough information. I simply posted the timeframe during which the events occurred-- take from that what you choose. However, sharing the same strain of anthrax does seem to connect the anthrax events at the very least ---
