UC Berkeley Scientist Says Al Qaeda Sent Anthrax Letters

daily californian ^ | 4/24/02

[TopQuark]

That is true, of course. But tracking anthrax is, in part, about science.

[eno_]

But the question still remains: why target the Democrats when they could count on their incompetence, corruption and complicency in things that hurt America?

UBL also has/had a big hair across his ass about the U.N. If only he would have limited himself to that target. If you can figure out what pisses him off and why, let me know.

[Southack]

Hastert, Pataki, and Bush were also targeted, although all of those letters were intercepted prior to being opened or even delivered to their offices. The Daschle letter got more press because it made it to his office.

[Southack]

"The AlQeada attackers who mailed the letters knew what they were doing. They used the ONLY possible method."

Don't quit your day job.

An easy example to contradict your claim (and I have several such examples) would be tickets. A savvy attack would have sent priority Fedex packages with airline, football, baseball, opera, or whatever appropriate tickets were required, along with a campaign donation and a note that so-n-so would love to see the good politician at such an event some day, and the quantity of powder would have been so small that the human eye wouldn't have detected it.

The CONTRAST here, as pointed out above, is that we have weapons-grade anthrax with grade-school delivery techniques (regular mail, so much powder that the eye could see it, and a letter that declared its presence), providing a strong hint that two entirely different entities were involved, such as a sophisticated state sponsor combined with an average-intelligence grunt.

[eno_]

Yes, they did look at crop-dusters and apparently abandoned the idea.

There is STILL a State Department (DEA) amored(!) Ayers crop duster, specially fitted out so it can be flown long distances gone missing. Given the patience and lead times dovoted to other attacks, it would be a mistake to go to sleep on this.

[eno_]

Excellent analysis. And remember Atta's widely reported meeting with a high-ranking Iraqi in Prague. Not only is the a disontinuity in teh quality of effort, there is a link that shows where this discontinuity occurred.

[muawiyah]

You would undoubtedly kill "Mr(s) Big's" secretary or press agent. Top level people have other people open their mail. There are exceptions, of course, but not enough to count on it.

[Travis McGee]

One working theory is that a several gram sample was given to Atta by the Iraqi intelligence chief in Prague.

It could be seen as a "warning shot" to let our intelligence agencies and NSC know that our enemies have "weaponized" anthrax.

The point being: if our enemies can make grams, they may have kilograms or tons of it. It could even already have been smuggled into the USA in an anonymous cargo container.

A hundred one kilogram glass jars of weaponized anthrax given to ten Iraqi or Al Qaida agents could spread absolute havoc and kill thousands if thrown at the same time on subway tracks in the ten largest US cities. The symptoms would all "present" at the same time, making it very widespread and the medical treatment window for all the possibly exposed (millions of subway riders) very short.

The ten largest American cities would have to be virtually shut down for days or weeks while the danger was analyzed and decontamination was done.

One thing for sure: if the NSC has received such a warning, they would NOT tell us.

But if a WMD attack does occur....

[Travis McGee]

The AlQeada attackers who mailed the letters knew what they were doing. They used the ONLY possible method.

Huh? Please read my above post. You cannot discount the possibility it was a "warning shot" to prove that our enemies have weaponized anthrax. If they can make a gram, they can make a ton.

[Travis McGee]

"....providing a strong hint that two entirely different entities were involved, such as a sophisticated state sponsor combined with an average-intelligence grunt."

EXACTLY. Atta got a "free sample" from the Iraqi intelligence chief in Prague is my guess. He sure was DESPERATE to make it to Prague, left the USA and risked refusal of re entry on an expored visa, made several attempts to get into the Czeckos Republic from Germany etc.

Why go to all that trouble for mere information, which could be sent via the internet or a courier?

Because he had to receive something physical and tangible there, like a tiny flask of weaponized anthrax spores?

[angkor]

none of us really know for sure that Cheney wasn't over there telling Sharon to level the "occupied territories."

All very good points.

I also found it interesting when we publicly announced that Iran, Iraq, Libya, and North Korea are now on the nuclear target list.

To me, that means if a terrorist nuke goes off in the U.S., then Iran, Iraq, Libya, and North Korea can anticipate seeing some very bright lights in their capitol cities.

I wonder what word they circulated to their terrorist surrogates as a result.

[Southack]

"You would undoubtedly kill "Mr(s) Big's" secretary or press agent. Top level people have other people open their mail. There are exceptions, of course, but not enough to count on it."

You are missing the point. The amount of anthrax required to kill off an entire building is invisible to the naked eye. A secretary would pass a fedex donation with baseball tickets and a contributor note to her boss, not even seeing the white powder (if it was a savvy attack). Even Mr. Big needs to hold his own tickets when entering an event.

The CONTRAST here is between the sophisticated, weaponized anthrax and the unsophisticated, amatuer delivery. Clearly the terrorists thought that a large-enough amount of anthrax would be unstoppable. They simply didn't have the education to know that their success ratio would have improved by using smaller quantities (too small to see) combined with savvy delivery techniques. Regular mail is too far down the chain. Registered-receipt mail would have gotten closer. Fed-Ex, closer still. Of course, the delivery method is only going to get so close. After that, the content of the package has to look important enough to make it to Mr. Big.

Considering how much the previous White House ordered in Pizza, we can probably be glad that the terrorists didn't infiltrate the pizza delivery system effectively enough to dust them with powder (but not enough to be visible).

But again, the contrast here is between the powder and the delivery method, making it very likely that two different entities were involved (one sophisticated and rich, the other not).

[veryconernedamerican]

ah but they are counting on the republicans to take more drastic action, thus targeting democrats would take out a layer of resistance to action. this would be the desired result of two groups, one right wing types who want drastic action, up to and including all intelligence agencies in the u.s. and the military, and Al Qaeda us taking a harder line quickly , makes it more likey their end goal is acheived, the consolidation of the arab world and removal of us presence from saudi arabia and the middle east.

[Southack]

"Why go to all that trouble for mere information, which could be sent via the internet or a courier?

Because he had to receive something physical and tangible there, like a tiny flask of weaponized anthrax spores?"

Precisely. Atta was good to go for his suicide ride because he knew that he was dieing anyway, from anthrax.

The attack on the Florida tabloid within 1 mile of Atta's apartment, Atta's doctor visit for his "infection", his death wish, the delivery method, and the striking contrast between that and the sophisticated anthrax all point towards a state sponsor, and we now know from smashing Afghanistan that the anthrax wasn't made there, which points us back to Atta's meeting in Prague with Iraqi intelligence.

Iraq and Iran have both been caught by Israel smuggling weapons in to Arafat, and that ties in Arafat's 30 year old Black September hijackers (and their expertise) to the 9/11 attack as well.

[Travis McGee]

I agree, and I don't believe the govt is telling us 10% of what they know.

[knak]

The connections with 9/11 are incontrovertible, but this was clearly not an attack, by al-Qaeda or anyone else. If it had been an attack, it would not have come with warning letters (two saying to take penicillin, one and possibly two specifically mentioning anthrax).

Under what circumstance do you think someone would place warnings in the letters? Just curious what you think. I think someone wanting to cause mass hysteria. Which I could also attribute to Saddam more than I would al-qaeda. Is this your opinion too?

[harpseal]

As always you make a great deal of sense. Another piece of circumstantial evidence that goes into this mix is the fact that a doctor reported treating one of the hijackers for cutaneous anthrax. The government motivation for the red herring of a totally domestic source of the anthrax could be multifold. First, there is not a sense of panic engendered among the public. Second it might just give some additional funding to some entrenched beaureaucrat's budget. If that beuareaucrat is ensconced in a position which is solely focused on right wing dissident groups then his/her budget is not cut to fund the pursuit of the real culprits. Thirdly it may just be the driving force behind not going after Iraq at this time and delaying until enough Cipro is on hand.

I note in the situation you describe there would be a huge number of delayed infections because the chances of detecting such an attack immediately or even in the first 48 hours are miniscule. If we as a nation did not detect the attack until the first symptoms presented themselves in some patients then we could wind up with millions dead. Further, the mass use of antibiotics and vacines would be necessary for those who may have been exposed before the discovery is made.

Stay well - Stay safe - Stay armed - Yorktown

[muawiyah]

Give you a choice: Pizza or the HVAC. These guys chose HVAC. In Italy they were getting ready to put cyanide crystals in tomato sauce cans. Sure as heck somebody else chose Pizza!

I am not sure we have an argument here, but I suspect if you want to get to a US Senator in a less than secure state, he or she is not eating pizza. I can't address Leahy because that bad boy looks like he ate all of 'em!

[Travis McGee]

I agree with all of your possible red herring domestic source reasons. It could also be meant to confuse Saddam about our true understanding of his "warning", parially negating its value to him, while as you say we crank out Cipro and get ready to attack Iraq.

No one yet has discounted my one kilo jar to subway delivery system. It might or might not kill many thousands or more, but it would certainly be an economic bomb at the least, shutting down our major cities for an extended period.

Folks smart enough to conceive of and pull off 9-11 can do the subway attack even more easily, IF they are given the 100 one kilo jars of anthrax by a state sponsor.

And we know from the WOD the odds of stopping a 100 kilo shipment into the USA is about nil.

[Tymesup]

"A study posted on the Web by the Defence Research Establishment Suffield in Alberta, Canada on September 1—well before the anthrax letters were mailed"

They probably did not see this article and run out to get the spores. They must have had the anthrax before September 1. Perhaps the article gave them the idea how to disperse it.