he FBI has been unable to provide a sensible explanation for how Ivins' testing for anthrax contamination outside the biosafety suites implicates him, when they found not a spore in his home or car. Fort Detrick has a long history of anthrax contamination (which led to the death of an electrician, Joel E. Willard, 50 years ago). Many anthrax samples were brought to Detrick for testing after the letters were sent. Why weren't the halls and other areas formally tested for contamination after all that traffic? The FBI spent a lot of time showing Ivins to be an obsessive guy: but when his obsessive testing of the Detrick facility found contamination, the FBI blamed him for producing it, rather than for detecting it. And Ivins' testing and cleaning occurred many months after the letters were sent.

(Quote from http://anthraxvaccine.blogspot.com/ )

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So I repeat, it is plausible that spores were spilled outside as well.

Seems to me the FBI is operating in the 9/11 mode, when a majority of the country would believe whatever the government said and would actively shout down as traitor anyone who didn't agree.

But seems the country has moved beyond that (how I hope!) and e.g. today's NPR lead story was Ivins' lawyer Paul Kemp's skepticism about the whole government case.

Support it!

It will grow up to be something you can be proud of!

The supposed motive - to increase public (or administration) awareness of anthrax doesn't ring true to me. If you have access to the WaPo or NYT archives, look at the news between Sept 11 and Sept 26, and (if my cursory look was correct) you'll find people - the public - was already stocking up on Cipro, the NYT pharmacies had run out, and so on. Public awareness was fully there.

In any case, the Army had instituted anthrax vaccinations for army and National Guard during the Clinton presidency if not earlier and that steady demand for vaccine was not going to go away. At most it would be a different supplier, but how would that matter to Ivins?

NYT articles on Cipro - Sept 10, 2001 - Sept 27, 2001:

Sorry, no links, and reproducing only a few lines:

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A NATION CHALLENGED: FEAR OF INFECTIONS; Anthrax Scare Prompts Run on an Antibiotic

By TAMAR LEWIN

Published: September 27, 2001

Many New Yorkers -- and to a lesser extent, people across the country -- are stocking up on Cipro, an antibiotic that they believe can be used to treat anthrax....Sebastian Manciameli, a pharmacist at Zitomer Pharmacy on Manhattan's Upper East Side, said: ''We can't keep it in stock. It started the day after the World Trade Center, with a few prescriptions, and now there's more and more.''

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Liberties; From Botox to Botulism

By MAUREEN DOWD

Published: September 26, 2001

Women I know in New York and Washington debate whether to order Israeli vs. Marine Corps gas masks, and half-hour lightweight gas masks vs. $400 eight-hour gas masks, baby gas masks and pet gas masks, with the same meticulous attention they gave to ordering no-foam-no-fat-no-whip lattes in more innocent days. They share information on which pharmacies still have Cipro, Zithromax and Doxycycline, all antibiotics that can be used for anthrax, the way they once traded tips on designer shoe bargains. They talk more now about real botulism than its trendy cosmetic derivative Botox.

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Those are the two that I found.

I only have search and preview, but e.g., searching for anthrax in the WaPo, Sept 10 - Sept 27, 2001

Bioterrorism: An Even More Devastating Threat

[FINAL Edition]

The Washington Post - Washington, D.C.

Author: Rick Weiss

Date: Sep 17, 2001

Start Page: A.24

Section: A SECTION

Text Word Count: 1080

It's called bioterrorism, and experts say it would be a lot easier to conduct and is more likely to occur in the next few years than a replay of last week's terrorist tragedies. A small cloud of bacteria or viruses could easily and silently infect tens of thousands of people, triggering fatal outbreaks of anthrax, smallpox, pneumonic plague or any of a dozen other deadly diseases. And victims infected with contagious ailments could pass the microbes to thousands of others before doctors even figured out what was going on.

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Taking Bio-Warfare Seriously

[FINAL Edition]

The Washington Post - Washington, D.C.

Date: Sep 23, 2001

Start Page: B.06

Section: EDITORIAL

Text Word Count: 318

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Going Too Far

[FINAL Edition]

The Washington Post - Washington, D.C.

Date: Sep 22, 2001

Start Page: A.27

Section: EDITORIAL

Text Word Count: 213

The Sept. 17 graphic "Sowing a Silent Massacre" was informative but perhaps too much so, as it illustrates useful considerations for ensuring maximum damage (from anthrax), including flight path of a plane and wind direction over Washington. I was surprised the article didn't also include contact information for research and pathology laboratories known to produce such spores.

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Suspect May Have Wanted to Buy Plane; Inquiries Reported On Crop- Duster Loan

[FINAL Edition]

The Washington Post - Washington, D.C.

Author: Rick Weiss and Justin Blum

Date: Sep 25, 2001

Start Page: A.12

Section: A SECTION

Text Word Count: 1135

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The End of Our Holiday From History

[FINAL Edition]

The Washington Post - Washington, D.C.

Author: George F. Will

Date: Sep 12, 2001

Start Page: A.31

Section: EDITORIAL

Text Word Count: 748

[supposedly mentions anthrax]

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Al Qaeda May Have Crude Chemical, Germ Capabilities

[FINAL Edition]

The Washington Post - Washington, D.C.

Author: Vernon Loeb and John Ward Anderson

Date: Sep 27, 2001

Start Page: A.18

Section: A SECTION

Text Word Count: 968