Is it possible the anthrax letters were a practical joke?

I just read the link to Salon.

http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2002/01/26/assaad/index.html

You know Ivins was musical and was noted for writing songs and poems when people left or for special occasions at work. Did he write the mean spirited little ditty in the article? Were letters sent with "harmless" attenuated anthrax to harass Assaad? The timing of the letter to the FBI can't be a coincidence. Who had a grudge against him?

Did the process of sorting letters at high speeds "weaponize" the anthrax? Remember, the letters themselves didn't harm the recipients.

REVIEW OF ANTHRAX ATTACKS

September 18th, 2001

Weapons quality Anthrax mailed to lib politicians and the media, rattled the nation just days after 9/11

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_anthrax_attacks

REVIEW – Anthrax Attacks

http://www.hermes-press.com/anthrax_atrocities2.htm

BioPort

http://www.motherjones.com/cgi-bin/print_article.pl?url=

http://www.motherjones.com/news/outfront/2002/01/biodefense.htm

BioPort was in major financial distress

http://armed-services.senate.gov/statemnt/2000/000712rl.pdf

Judith Miller NY Times piece on BioPort and purchases by Bush of vaccine at 3 times the normal cost

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B02E1DC133BF936A3575BC0A9649C8B63

Both had been policy aides to Vice President Cheney, who championed Project BioShield.

BioPort was founded in 1998 by Ibrahim El-Hibri, a Lebanese financier. Along with Fuad, his U.S.-educated son, El-Hibri formed BioPort by purchasing vaccine-making facilities of the state of Michigan for $24.75 million. The company's only product was the anthrax vaccine, called BioThrax, which it sold chiefly to the U.S. military. In mid-2004, the company reorganized as Emergent BioSolutions.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-anthrax2dec02,0,3465779,full.story

more at http://www.therandirhodesshow.com/index.php?/archives/53-Friday,-August-1,-2008.html#extended

I appreciate your lucid and thoughtful comment.

I've been following this thread, but haven't kept up with the story sufficiently to add anything. But even as a layman reading second-hand snippets of information, I've been bothered by the accounts of this therapist-- I've thought of questions similar to the ones you've posed.

As many others have observed, there are too many aspects of her account that are difficult, if not impossible, to reconcile with Ivins work and activity in the past few years. It's just too simple to characterize Ivins as a deranged and dangerous malcontent who simply cracked, and chose a difficult and unreliable means to commit suicide.

I'm certain that Glenn will be following up this story! And by the way-- where is Glenn? Actually, I'm pleased that he takes time off, or at least away from the blog. He's more than earned as much R&R as he likes.

But this story is so spooky that I'm tempted to ask him to, you know, check in once in a while. Hmmm, you don't suppose that he went undercover and scheduled a session with Jean Duley...

I'm starting to feel like Scully, realizing that she hasn't heard from Mulder for too long a while.

You had to come around, just when my new life was getting off to a good start. You couldn't maybe give me another year or two before exposure? Please?

I have read practically every page of these comments and am impressed, for the most part, with many of the fine, thoughtful reactions to Glenn's piece. Forgive me if it was pointed out, but for the therapist Duley to repeat any confidential diagnosis of a patient is against all things HIPAA, which are the standards for privacy in medical information. I don't know, this whole thing really stinks, and I have not been so worked up about about a story in quite a while.

The Smoking Gun has a copy of the docs she filed in which she spelled "therapist" as "theripist."

now, how many ppl, in a court document, would misspell the name of their profession? how many people would misspell their profession, period? not that this proves anything. However, her statements are so beyond the realm of believable.. he was working on the anthrax investigation after he had threatened to poison co-workers in the year 2000?

Which co-workers did he supposedly threaten? Had the Kamel Klub put him in their sites, as with Assad?

On another site, a self-professed ex-spookster said this was a classic psyops to pressure Ivins. The cars visibly parked outside his place, which others in his neighborhood knew about, were NOT to catch him doing anything. These visits were to pressure him, to shame him in front of his neighbors. Whoever was in charge of this was trying to drive him to suicide, according to the ex-spookster, who also noted that using such tactics can be s.o.p. Not quite as good as waterboarding if you want to get a false confession, but less hands on, so to speak.

And as to the question of "would you want to know if your govt. had done this?" The answer is yes because if these people are not held accountable, it will happen all over again. They should be put on trial for murder. They should be shot if guilty. Frankly, I think it's NECESSARY to know the truth because, until such ppl are outed and discredited, the far right will continue to remain close to power and thus in a position to harm us all.

After the last 8 years, I believe the Bush administration would do anything for their own selfish ends.. including murder. They are such bad liars - I don't know why they are not held accountable. However, because they are not held accountable, they simply mock the American ppl and everything we are taught to believe about this nation. So, yes, I want to know. Because the fact is, I already assume, based upon the bits and pieces of actions I DO know about, that they have perpetrated this attempted murder. If they aren't guilty, then that should be known too.

But who among those who have followed this case, really thinks that some in the govt are not responsible for this?