Re bentonite, I haven't read all the responses to this article, so I don't know if anyone has mentioned this. Bentonite, though it is a word unknown to many, basically refers to a type of clay used in many products and processes (see Wikipedia and other sources for info re bentonite.) One person who would have known a lot about bentonite was VP Cheney. Halliburton owns Bentonite Performance Minerals LLC (BPM), "a world leader in the production of Wyoming bentonite, the benchmark in the global sodium bentonite industry." See http://www.bentonite.com/

I have been troubled by the widespread and unquestioning reporting of Jean Duley's allegations re Dr. Bruce Ivins. Consequently, I have been on a one-person crusade all day, emailing reporters at The New York Times and the Washington Post the following:

I fear that the media have made a rush to judgment based on the statements by Jean C. Duley, the Frederick, MD, social worker.

Ms. Duley may not be aware that there is a subset of people suffering from mental illness who come to believe, wrongly, that they will or have harmed others. This can occur in people with OCD. For example, Charles Barber, now a Yale lecturer, in "Songs from the Black Chair," describes on p. 56 and elsewhere that, as his mental illness grew, his homicidal ideation and thoughts that he had acted on it obsessed him. He had not actually committed acts of violence, but he began to believe that he would and had.

In addition, specialists on OCD know about people with scrupulosity, who believe that unless they repeat a series of actions, they will cause harm to come to someone or have caused harm to others. One of the experts on this is Dr. Charles Mansueto of the Behavior Therapy Center of Greater Washington. For a quick article re this, see "OCD Sufferers Consumed by Religion" by Tom Dunkel, The Baltimore Sun, September 9, 2005, reprinted at http://www.anxietyandstress.com/ocdreligionandscrupulosity.html

I also sent the reporters the following email:

This email * * * concerns the statements made by social worker Jean Duley re Dr. Bruce Ivins. I hope that you are aware of the substantial body of work on false confessions completed by mental health professionals. See, e.g., the work done by Saul Kassin, Professor of Psychology, Williams College. His website (and contact information) is http://www.williams.edu/Psychology/Faculty/Kassin/index.html

I have no specific information concerning Dr. Ivins and his alleged involvement with the anthrax letters of 2001. I remain concerned, however, about the impressions created by the statements made by Jean Duley regarding Dr. Ivins. I am a former Special Agent (GS-1811) for an agency other than the FBI. I am aware that the subjects of investigations face enormous stress.