Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Anthrax Letters After Sept. 11 Attacks: National Research Council Not Sure Dr. Brice Ivins Was Sole Source

It's a case that's been marked by controversy and mystery for nearly a decade: who was responsible for the deadly anthrax-laced letters sent after 9/11?

Today, the National Academy of Science raised more questions.

A review panel said that the FBI overstated the scientific evidence that linked the anthrax flask controlled by Dr. Bruce E. Ivins to the anthrax used in the 2001 attack letters. Dr. Ivins, a researcher at Ft. Detrick, MD., was identified by the FBI as the primary suspect in the case. He maintained his innocence until his suicide in 2008.

The cornerstone of the FBI case against Dr. Ivins was that the anthrax in the flask to which he had access -- labeled RMR-1029 -- had a unique make-up that identified it as the parent material for the anthrax in the attack letters. It took years of research for the FBI to conclude that the anthrax in the letters came from Dr. Ivins' flask, and they cited it as "powerful evidence" against him.

The NAS has reviewed the FBI's scientific work on the anthrax, and today, Dr. David A. Relman, the vice chair of the NAS panel, said, "One cannot arrive at a definitive conclusion about the origins of the anthrax."

The review by the NAS concludes that while the anthrax in the letters was "consistent with" the RMR-1029 flask, that flask was not the "immediate source" of the spores used in the letters. The NAS found that one or more growth steps would have been required to produce the spores used in the letters. The NAS found that "the data did not rule out other possible sources" of the anthrax.

In addition, the NAS found that the anthrax used in letters sent to New York locations -- including ABC News, NBC News and the New York Post -- had different physical properties from the anthrax in letters that killed several postal workers and closed down some Senate offices in Washington, D.C.

The FBI says it did not rely on science alone to close in on Dr. Ivins. Investigators said they also used circumstantial evidence, including late-night lab visits by Ivins and e-mail messages describing his psychological turmoil, to identify him as a suspect. ...

via Anthrax Letters After Sept. 11 Attacks: National Research Council Not Sure Dr. Brice Ivins Was Sole Source - ABC News.

Will the truth ever come out? Ask Bush and Cheney how the White House knew to start taking Cipro, the anthrax antidote, more than 8 days before the attacks were known, by anyone other than the people doing the attacking.
On the evening after the 9/11 attacks, some White House personnel, including Vice President Dick Cheney’s staff, are given the anti-anthrax drug Cipro, and told to take it regularly. [Associated Press, 10/24/2001] An unnamed “high government official” also advises some reporters to take Cipro shortly after 9/11 (see Shortly After September 11, 2001). Judicial Watch will later sue the Bush administration to release documents showing who knew what and when, and why presidential staff were protected while senators, congresspeople, and others were not. [Associated Press, 6/9/2002] - hc

The first set of anthrax letters had a Trenton, New Jersey postmark dated September 18, 2001. - wiki

Look at who was attacked and when. From the available evidence, it seems that the Anthrax Attacks were aimed at framing Arabs, at getting revenge on a certain paper that printed the story of the drunk Bush daughters, and at getting the Patriot Act passed. The cover up continues:
An official of the U.S. administration said in March 2010 that President Barack Obama probably would veto legislation authorizing the next budget for U.S. intelligence agencies if it called for a new investigation into the 2001 anthrax attacks, as such an investigation "would undermine public confidence" in an FBI probe.  - wiki

Isn't saying an investigation of the probe would undermine public confidence the same as admitting that the probe does not deserve public confidence? And doesn't this also show a clear intent to mislead the public?

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