http://time-blog.com/daily_dish/index.php?dish_inc=archives/2001_11_01_dish_archive.html

ANTHRAX AVOIDANCE: One of the most interesting stories of the last few days was one by Elaine Sciolino for the New York Times. It recounts how the United States is actually scuppering a French effort to win Security Council condemnation of the anthrax attacks in New York and Washington. The Bush administration allegedly wants no such condemnation, since they apparently do not believe that a foreign source was behind the biological warfare launched on the U.S. "Let's assume this was the work of a bunch of right-wing nuts or a Unabomber kind of thing," one "senior administration official" told the Times. "That would make it a domestic criminal matter. The Security Council just has no legitimate role in this." Another anonymous official tells Sciolino: "I'm not going to deny that there were two schools of thought on this." Hmmm. Now ask yourself: what conceivable harm would it do to have the U.N. condemn this even if it turns out to be a domestic crackpot? I can't see any problem at all - unless you're a black helicopter type who doesn't think the U.N. should have anything to do with any domestic matters in America. So what to make of the administration's reluctance? Here's my take: the White House completely believes that the anthrax attack is the work of al Qaeda via Iraq. They may even have evidence. But they don't want to be forced into the awkward situation of having to respond to such a blatant act of state-sponsored biological warfare yet. With the Afghan war just starting, the last thing they want to tackle is the possibility of nuclear response against Iraq. So they are just batting this issue away, ignoring it, pretending it isn't here for now. Have you noticed how completely silent the president has been about this? That's my theory anyway. Give the administration a few months and then the evidence will suddenly be found. But at a time of their choosing.

gotta love it ... that piece has so many little (fabricated) threads neatly tied in to one another ...

My impression of Team Bush and Cheney is that they really were an anti-Saddam -- he's eeeeevvvvviiiillllll -- circle jerk, and were more than willing to believe he was capable of any evil (and in possession of remarkable superpowers and an international cabal of agents of great cunning and stealth) .... and, needless to say, had Bin Laden to tea once a month.

As all Americans know, recent weeks have brought a second wave of terrorist attacks upon our country...Four Americans have died as a result of these acts of terrorism...The Postal Service and the FBI have offered a reward of up to $1 million for information leading to the arrest and the conviction of the anthrax terrorists...We do not yet know who sent the anthrax -- whether it was the same terrorists who committed the attacks on September the 11th, or whether it was the -- other international or domestic terrorists. We do know that anyone who would try to infect other people with anthrax is guilty of an act of terror...I'm proud of our citizens' calm and reasoned response to this ongoing terrorist attack.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/11/20011103.html

Regarding the administration trying to tie Iraq to the attacks, the little vial that Colin Powell shook at the UN represented anthrax.

I don’t know if anyone else has mentioned this, but I think Glenn spotlighted this recently, when Patrick Leahy, a target of the anthrax attacks, was questioning Michael Mukasey regarding the anthrax killer and he said the following:

Mukasey: That case is under active investigation and I need to be very careful about what I say.

Leahy: We won't go any further. As I say, I feel somewhat reluctant because I was one of the targets. But I gotta say, what families of the people who died went through, what families of the people who were crippled went throug, even what my family went through. A lot of people are concerned and I won't say more because we are in open session but I think you and I probably should have a private talk about this sometime.

Mukasey: That's fine.

If Leahy has information and/or knows who the anthrax killer is, and ABC has information on who the anthrax killer is, and clearly the Bush administration has information on the anthrax killer, why exactly are the American people left in the dark about one of the most notorious unsolved crimes in US history?

Try this link for Emptywheel's report on the Leahy-Mukasey exchange on anthrax in early July:

http://tinyurl.com/5rsy7e

The final bit of that post:

Leahy ends with a comment that may well be directed at Mukasey's unwillingness to prosecute Bush officials for torture, or may well be directed toward fraudsters who tamper with elections, or may well be directed at the contractors who are seemingly immune from prosecution in Iraq, or may well be directed at Turdblossom's involvement in the persecution of Don Siegelman.

Leahy: You're the one person, the one person, who has the final say the laws are going to apply to everybody in this nation.

But I can't help but wonder whether Leahy suspects the government doesn't think the laws against terrorism ought to apply to "guy who committed" the anthrax attacks.

That seems like a highly prescient remark, now that Ivins is no longer in the picture. Couple that with the CNN reporting that the FBI will close the case, and the whitewash appears complete.

Caveat: The CNN statement is "Three sources familiar with the investigation said the case soon will be closed because a threat no longer exists." It's not clear to me if the case to be closed is just the case against Ivins or if it is the anthrax case in the broader sense. If the total anthrax case is being closed, that stinks to high heavens and should lead to immediate resignations by Mukasey and Mueller.