Posted on 02/19/2008 10:08:32 AM PST by TrebleRebel
So?
The bloodhounds were used to help find out where Dr. Hatfill was when the FBI lost track of him while he was driving back to Maryland from a visit to LSU in Louisiana. At the time, the FBI had 24-7 surveillance on him, and the conspiracy theorists would have gone ballistic if they had known the FBI lost their tail. So, the FBI made up stories about what the bloodhounds were being used for.
It's all described in detail in my book and on my web site page HERE.
She and other conspiracy theorists were talking about the case, trying to figure out who they knew about who could have done it, and Hatfill's name popped up because he was a strong Bush supporter and had been in the news talking about how easy it was for a terrorists to cook up bioweapons in an ordinary kitchen. The Bush administration had shot down the Biological and Toxic Weapons Convention just a month or two before the attacks, and the conspiracy theorists believed that the attack was a plot by the Bush Administration to show that their point of view was correct -- that terrorists don't allow inspectors to inspect their labs, so why should the U.S. government allow inspectors into government labs?
The conspiracy theorists checked into Hatfill and found all kinds of "evidence" which seemed to show that Hatfill was a rogue CIA agent working for the Bush administration. But the "evidence" was mostly just innuendo and rumor, with a lot of totally BOGUS information thrown in. They believed he worked out of a safe house in Maryland (which turned out to be some friend's condo), they knew he had obtained some biosafety cabinets (which he gave to the military for training, so that they'd recognize such things). They thought he was up-to-date on his anthrax shots. He wasn't. Hatfill was a friend of William Patrick III, who worked with anthrax during the Cold War, etc.
The question has not only been asked, it has been thoroughly answered. I have a three chapters about it in my book, and I have a web page about it HERE.
Your analysis on this point sounds to me completely plausible. It would be nice if some day in the future we saw this spelled out in detail in a "mainstream" media news outlet though, because that's still where most people get there information from.
And one would think the press themselves would have a vested interest in figuring out their own mistakes, so that we don't end up with more Richard Jewells and Steven Hatfills. But they seem to me to be far more interested in covering their own asses than they are in truth and fairness.
That's a big part of it. But much of it was also the result of confusion and mistakes made in the early days of the case. At one point, the media was getting "experts" to give their opinion on information that was totally wrong. So, it was garbage-in, garbage out, but it fit people's beliefs.
It would be nice if some day in the future we saw this spelled out in detail in a "mainstream" media news outlet though, because that's still where most people get there information from.
Right. My web site and my book go through the whole thing in detail, but I'm still just "a guy on the Internet." It means nothing until the media gets some "recognized expert" to say the same things.
I’m really not following you.
I think you agree the dogs were used. Hatfill, the wife of his former superior, each mentions encounters with the dogs.
The dogs were trained with the dubious “scent pack” procedure. The handlers even advertise them so, and they claim use in other cases.
I can believe that possibly aspects of the dog story were fabricated to smoke out leaks, such as the Louisiana Denny’s story.
But the scent pack dogs were used in DC. I’m not sure you think otherwise or not.
Judge Walton had some cautionary words for journalists on Tuesday, but he saved his harshest judgments for the unidentified officials who linked Dr. Hatfill to the anthrax investigation in the news media.
“There’s not a scintilla of evidence to suggest Dr. Hatfill had anything to do with it,” the judge said, yet the public notoriety has “destroyed his life.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/20/us/20anthrax.html
That’s some strong language!!
There were two main theories pursued by two separate squads.
One was a “bioevangelist” theory (e.g., Hatfill).
One was US-based supporters of Al Qaeda.
A Hatfill Theory was a bioevangelist theory. A bioevangelist theory was unsound. It was promoted by folks who didn’t know anything about Ayman Zawahiri , his plans to use weaponized anthrax against US targets, the jihadists’ threat in late January 2001 to use mailed anthrax (see early Feb. PDB) , or the al Hayat letter bombs. The jihadis threatened to use mailed anthrax if bail was not granted an imprisoned EIJ shura member, who had managed OBL’s farm. His bail was denied on October 5 and so they immediately sent the real deal. Ed is the most prolific proponent of a bioevangelist theory.
The first proponent of the bioevangelist theory in mainstream media was the very learned Professor Boyle. (He notes to me he was first, before his former colleague BHR etc.). He has been legal counsel to the PLO and counsel to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Has worked for the impeachment of President Bush. I doubt he knew anything about Ayman’s work with anthrax even though it was in the Arabic press. His being listed on all the terror watch lists, no doubt, is just the result of his political advocacy.
And if he's really the guy who's most directly responsible for wrecking Steve Hatfill's life by making people believe that he's a mass murderer, then he's a despicable lowlife gutter rat, and he should be ashamed of himself.
Professor Boyle tells me he was the first to promote a bioevangelist theory, but he notes that he has never suggested Dr. Hatfill as the candidate.
The FBI lost their tail on Hatfill.
They couldn't tell people that. The conspiracy theorists would have gone ballistic.
The FBI brought in the dogs to sniff around the places where Dr. Hatfill was or might have been during the period he was missing.
The dogs sniffed around the Denny's where Hatfill was last seen. They verified that they picked up the scent there.
They sniffed around William Patrick III's home and found nothing, verifying that Hatfill hadn't gone there for some nefarious purpose. (The conspiracy theorists believe Patrick and Hatfill were working together.)
The sniffed around Dr. Hatfill's storage locker in Florida, and found nothing. (Proving he hadn't gone there for some nefarious purpose.)
They sniffed around the places of other "persons of interest" and verified that Dr. Hatfill hadn't met with any of them.
Finally, because it's all just a game to the dogs and they need to be rewarded for playing a good game, they were allowed to "find" Dr. Hatfill in his apartment, and they were then given a treat for a job well done.
Comprendo?
Theoretically, bloodhounds are capable of sniffing around a highway off ramp and detecting that their quarry passed by. (The scent materials exit through open windows and via vents.)
The FBI also impounded the car that Hatfill drove back and forth to Louisiana, which confirms that it was all about their losing his tail. They needed to check the car, too, to see if he had done anything sinister during the period he had gone missing.
If this is true, wouldn't these reporters plead the fifth -- self-incrimination?
Presumably, the scent pack contained some item of Hatfill's clothing. It was a scent pack for Dr. Hatfill NOT for the anthrax mailer.
Self incrimination for what crime? Bad reporting? Is that a crime? If so, why aren't nearly all reporters in jail? Everyone makes mistakes from time to time.
Some of the depositions SHOW that the reporters made stuff up by making ASSUMPTIONS which weren't true. Also, one CBS report was revised by some low-level jerk before putting a different version on the Internet. He evidently just thought his version made a better story.
NOVEMBER 2001 : (ANTHRAX LETTERS INVESTIGATION : FBI ISSUES SUSPECT PROFILE ID-ING THE LIKELY ATTACKER AS BEING A SINGLE ADULT MALE, PROBABLY AMERICAN WITH A SCIENTIFIC BACKGROUND, LAB EXPERIENCE, POOR SOCIAL SKILLS & A GRUDGE) In November [2001], the FBI issued a suspect profile identifying the likely anthrax attacker as a single adult male, probably an American with a scientific background, lab experience, poor social skills, and a grudge. - "Anthrax: Look for International Terrorist Sources, Columnist Says," By Jonathan Rauch, National Journal via "This week's Biological Weapons stories for Thursday, June 6, 2002. "
OCTOBER 2003 : (REPORT : ALL QAEDA WANTED TO BUILD A BIOWEAPONS PLANT IN INDONESIA) Hambali, also known as Riduan Isamuddin, also has told agents al-Qaida wanted to build a bio-weapons plant in Indonesia to produce weapons to deliver the deadly biological agent anthrax. He revealed that the Islamic network of terrorist cells known as Jemaah Islamiah had recruited American-trained scientist Yazid Sufaat to oversee the project. He has studied chemistry at California State University in Sacramento and is under arrest in Malaysia. -------- Terrorist Hambali tells all (al-Qaeda wanted to build bio-weapons plant in Indonesia ) The Sunday Times ^ | October 12 2003 | LINCOLN WRIGHT
MAY 2007 : (FORMER CIA DIRECTOR TENET BOOK "CENTER OF THE STORM" -- AL QAEDA RESPONSIBLE FOR 2001 ANTHRAX ATTACKS) CIA Director has always thought Al Qaeda was responsible. See Woodward’s quote from the NSC meeting. In his May 2007 book, he writes:
“Al-Qa’ida spared no effort in its attempt to obtain biological weapons. In 1999, al-Zawahiri had recruited another scientist, Pakistani national Rauf Ahmad, to set up a small lab in Khandahar, Afghanistan, to house the biological weapons effort. In December 2001, a sharp WMD analyst at CIA found the initial lead on which we would pull and, ultimately, unravel the al-Qa’ida anthrax networks. We were able to identify Rauf Ahmad from letters he had written to Ayman al-Zawahiri. Later, we uncovered [Yazid] Sufaat’s central role in the program. We located Rauf Ahmad’s lab in Afghanistan. We identified the building in Khandahar where Sufaat claimed he isolated anthrax. We mounted operations that resulted in the arrests and detentions of anthrax operatives in several countries.” “The most startling revelation from this intelligence success story was that the anthrax program had been developed in parallel to 9/11 planning. As best as we could determine, al-Zawahiri’s project had been wrapped up in the summer of 2001, when the al-Qaida deputy, along with Hambali, were briefed over a week by Sufaat on the progress he had made to isolate anthrax. The entire operation had been managed at the top of al-Qai’da with strict compartmentalization. Having completed this phase of his work, Sufaat fled Afghanistan in December 2001 and was captured by authorities trying to sneak back into Malaysia. Rauf Ahmad was detained by Pakistani authorities in December 2001. Our hope was that these and our many other actions had neutralized the anthrax threat, at least temporarily.” —Former CIA Director George Tenet in his May 2007 book Center of the Storm24 posted on 07/06/2007 5:17:40 AM PDT by ZacandPook
...Jamil Qasim Saeed Mohammed [* My note: See the BLEEDINGHEARTATTACK keyword, and the CIA plane deportation trick] was a Yemeni microbiology PhD student in his final year who had been flown out of the country on a private jet operated by the CIA in late October 2001. He had assisted Malaysian anthrax lab tech Yazid Sufaat in setting up a lab that was intended to manufacture anthrax.
Jamil Qasim Saeed Mohammed was indicted along with Boston cab driver Hijazi and others in connection with the earlier Cole bombing.
Al Qaeda anthrax lab technician Yazid Sufaat was arrested in December 2001 when he tried to sneak back into Malaysia. ...-———— “Zawahiri’s Plan To Obtain the Ames Anthrax Strain,” Ross E. Getman, Esq. - VIA 4/15/2005 Global Politician, http://globalpolitician.com/articleshow.asp?ID=612&cid=11
* Mohamed Mansour Jabarah aka Sammy: ... Jabarah served as the go-between Khalid [S] Mohammed in Karachi and US-educated anthrax researcher Sufaat in Kuala Lumpur. .—— “Zawahiri Anthrax,” From an internet forum : http://www.sunspot.net/cgi-bin/ultbb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=18;t=033050 , Posted by : Ross , Member # 22156 ; Anthrax, Al Qaeda, and Ayman Zawahiri, http://www.anthraxandalqaeda.com
Wow.
Thanks much.
Verrrrrrrrrry interesting.
If you're unsure, you could always try and contact her and ask. She has an feature on her web page to let people contact her by e-mail.
Don’t forget that Ed generally inkoves the complete opposite meaning of what people write in plain English.
When Malkin quotes “there is not a scintilla of evidence against Hatfill” Ed reads this as “I think Hatfill did it”.
When Judge Walton says “from what I’ve seen there is not an arrest in sight any time in the future” Ed reads “an arrest is imminent”.
When Michael Mason says “we failed to reproduce the anthrax” Ed reads “we succeeded in reproducing the anthrax”.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.