Posted on 10/27/2001 11:34:28 AM PDT by Democrats are liars
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Also this is only the second question. BUT, there are three lifelines.
They can take the 50-50 and can cut it down to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Or the Freeper audience can answer.
Or they can call an expert (eg. Laurie Mylroie)
But these jamokes had better realize that they have an obligation to scotch the nasty, underhanded rumors being broadcast by the liberal media, including the Washington ComPost that the guilty parties are Christian fundamentalists, or right-to-life organizations, or anything of the kind.
These are flat-out lies, being disseminated by the media, probably with the complicity of some clintonoid or other who is leaking lies from the FBI because Bush hasn't gotten around to firing him yet.
Janet Reno is no longer our ruler by divine right. This stuff has got to stop.
It's "Bentonite." It's a kind of naturally occuring clay that instantly turns to horrible mud when it rains. It's not controlled. Literally the entire center of the state of Wyoming is covered with the stuff. You can go out and pick it up off the ground. It's used for a zillion things..it's pumped down oil wells, used in Kitty Litter.
Kind of hard to control mud :-)
It also occurs widely throughout the world, in 81 countries, including Iran and Iraq.
The deal with Iraq is that they're the only country known previously to use bentonite in their anthrax program, apparently. But ANYONE can get all the bentonite they want, anywhere they want. Hence, it's not proof Iraq produced the anthrax.
You seem surprised....why?
It took EIGHTEEN YEARS to track down the Unabomber.
I would be shocked if whoever sent the anthrax letters was tracked down within 3-4 months and not surprised if it took over a year. Mail crimes are exceedingly difficult to solve.
'Can't decide whether the attemp to blame this on "right wing fanatics" is FBI ineptness or whether the administration has given the FBI their "marching orders."
Obviously, the administration does not want this being taced to Iraq at this point in time. This may be strategic in nature. My hope is that this is a temporary thing due to the need to complete the Afghan mission prior to engaging Iraq.
Sadly, there is also the alternative possibility that, in the post-Clinton atmosphere, we are too badly exposed to risk a major chemical or biological attack internally and are thus unwilling to attack Iraq.
In my opinion the anthrax, so far, has not been intended to kill (although it did) ...that's why the samples were small, relatively contained and the messages and warnings were sent. The overall message being sent is this: We have the means and the methods to attack you at home. It is a warning of dire things to come pure and simple.
Now if they can also turn this into a witch hunt on the extreme right, so much the better for them. Sad when you become suspicious of your own government isn't it?
They've known who is responsible for weeks. Does anyone seriously believe that, four weeks into the anthrax campaign, the POTUS is still in the dark as to whether the letters are coming from al-Qaeda terror cells or all-American wackos? Get real. Ergo, we are being fed disinformation.
Now, put yourself in the position of Bush. You know that Iraq is presenting a credible threat to kill American civilians in huge numbers whenever you point the finger at Saddam. What are you going to do? Run out and tell everyone? Of course not. He has to keep the ball in the air for as long as possible. Saddam's okay with that, too. He's not going to blow the gaffe, since the anthrax only works as a deterrent so long as Bush has room to maneauver. The sh*t hits the fan when and if Bush points the finger.
I truly think this is more of a Unibomber case than a bin Laden or Iraqi case. That makes it much harder to solve.
Of course, the perpetrator(s) could be Middle-Eastern. Most of the science students in graduate programs in our Universities are Asian, Middle-Eastern or Russian.
Are you saying they know who is in the terrorist cells that mailed the anthrax tainted letters from U.S. mailboxes, or just that they know who provided the anthrax?
If it's the former, then the effort to find the location of the terrorist cells would be at least a little closer to completion.
If it's the latter, then there really isn't much the government can do. Assuming the stockpiles of anthrax are already in the hands of hidden terrorist cells within the U.S., then no amount of threatening language or overt actions against Iraq can change that fact. IMO the first priority would be to neutralize the immediate threat (locate and disable the hidden terrorist cells), then go after the sponsor.
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