Newspaper: Bio researcher whose home was searched commissioned 1999 anthrax mail attack study

Associated Press ^ | 6-27-02

[Oldeconomybuyer]

FORT DETRICK, Md. (AP) --

[Orangedog]

"I've been in this field for a number of years, working until 3 o'clock in the morning, trying to counter this type of weapon of mass destruction, and, sir, my career is over at this time," Hatfill said.

Let no good deed go unpunnished.

[First_Salute]

"The Sun said Hatfill was dismissed after his Defense Department security clearance was suspended on Aug. 23. Ben Haddad, spokesman for the defense contractor, said Wednesday he couldn't comment on the report."

Dept. of Defense security clearance suspended just weeks before Sept. 11th; and a company spokesman, "Haddad."

It's just another coincidence.

[Free the USA]

fyi

[Shermy]

Ping

[Ordinary_American]

Hatfill is a 1983 graduate of of the University of Zimbabwe Medical School. The university is near the Greendale Primary School in the Harare suburbs. "Greendale School" in Franklin Park, N.J., was printed in large block letters as the false return address on the anthrax-laden envelopes sent to Sens. Tom Daschle and Patrick Leahy.

[Ordinary_American]

The Associated Press reported that agents have searched a public storage facility Hatfill rented in Ocala, Fla. Hatfill's parents, Norman and Shirley Hatfill, own a thoroughbred farm in Ocala called Mekamy Oaks that he has occasionally listed as his address.

[pepsionice]

Ok, now we see the Jersey connection...and we see a Florida connection. This guy had better find a lawyer. The idiot thought that they would never...ever...find him. Obviously, they are a bit brighter than you think. The FBI can occassionally come up with good detective work. Let's ask the golden question....where is the lab? He obviously has a remote residence somewhere in Jersey or Florida that he is using...probably a trailer or storage building. Lets look for the next clue!

[Ordinary_American]

Hatfill, raised in Mattoon, Ill., attended medical school in Zimbabwe, then Rhodesia, and has described witnessing in 1979-1980 the largest outbreak of human anthrax - an estimated 10,000 cases, most of them cutaneous. Experts still debate whether the Zimbabwe outbreak occurred naturally or was a tactic in the civil war then raging between the white government and black guerrillas.

[KSCITYBOY]

Good catch!

[Ordinary_American]

Attempts to reach him (Hatfill) yesterday were unsuccessful, and the manager of his apartment complex told reporters he was traveling overseas.

[The Great Satan]

Possible connection: Zimbabwe's anthrax 'gimmick'

Presumably, Hatfill is the guy Rosenberg has been pointing the finger at, but not naming, for the last few months. Now that he has been named in the national media, we should see a quick resolution, one way or another. I remain skeptical -- but this is the first time since ABC News reported on that guy in Milwaulkee (a red herring, as it turned out) that I've wavered.

[Mitchell]

Hatfill is a 1983 graduate of of the University of Zimbabwe Medical School. The university is near the Greendale Primary School in the Harare suburbs.

What is the documentation for this?

[Aliska]

an estimated 10,000 cases, most of them cutaneous.

If diagnosed properly, that seems like too many to have occurred through natural means.

[Nogbad]

ping

[Ranger]

I recall reading a govt report saying that this 79-80 Zimbabwe outbreak was a deliberate biowarfare attack by whites and that the parties involved had been identified subsequently.

[Mitchell]

Here is a report on the 1978-1980 anthrax outbreak in Zimbabwe. (It's from the Physicians for Social Responsibility and appears on the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War web site; I don't know if a version has appeared in a refereed medical journal. I'd much prefer an unbiased, refereed source for a scientific article, but this is what I have.)

Here's the beginning of the report (click on the link for the rest):

Anthrax Epizootic in Zimbabwe, 1978-1980: Due to Deliberate Spread?

Meryl Nass, M.D.*

Abstract
The largest recorded outbreak of anthrax in humans occurred in Zimbabwe during its civil war, in 1979 to 1980. There were a number of unusual features of the epizootic. The disease spread over time from area to area, until six of the eight provinces were affected. Yet anthrax usually appears as a point source outbreak, without significant geographic spread. Only the African-owned cattle in the Tribal Trust Lands were affected; cattle belonging to whites were uninvolved. A critical review of the scientific explanations proposed to account for these events is presented. The possibility that the epizootic could have been a biological warfare event is evaluated. Finally, suggestions are advanced for further investigations into the origin of this epizootic. [PSRQ 1992;2:198-209]

[Thud]

ping

[Mitchell]

Presumably, Hatfill is the guy Rosenberg has been pointing the finger at, but not naming, for the last few months.

I believe that Rosenberg has actually gone through at least two, maybe three, potential suspects -- always just hinting, so she never has to make a retraction.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the heads ups! Very interesting information...