Read other letters about this article

• Wednesday, August 6, 2008 10:23 AM

  Full disclosure is inevitable, I suppose.

  Regarding Glenn Greenwald's comments about Ed Lake and secret identities, he does have a point. However, Ed Lake's articles mostly revolve around trying to promote the theory of "low tech anthrax", in the face of AFIP and USAMRIID scientists, as well as the authoritative reporting of Richard Preston (the Hot Zone) and Gary Matsumoto on the issue - and he has no background in the subject.

  Basically, my limited expertise in this area stems from my scientific background, most of which involves the role of microbes in the environment and in industry. My real interests are global climate change and renewable energy, say the use of microbes to convert cellulose to ethanol, or atmospheric nitrogen to plant fertilizer.

  I also have a long-standing side interest in limiting the expansion of biological warfare agents and antibiotic-resistant microbes, and have read most every popular science text on the subject and a bit of the technical literature as well.

  I much prefer the issues of renewable energy and global warming, quite frankly. Fossil fuel executives are, after all, currently working to provide energy for people all over the world, and it's just unfortunate that their products lead to global warming - but once everyone sees that renewables are also profitable (and don't trash the planet), the transition will occur.

  However, these freaks in the biowarfare and nuclear warfare business don't listen to reason, as this whole nasty anthrax episode shows. Still, this business really cannot be allowed to continue - and here's why, quoted straight from Ken Alibek, the Soviet Biopreparat researcher. First, consider Sverdlovsk:

  "On the last Friday of March 1979, a technician in the anthrax drying plant at Compound 19, a biological arms production facility in Sverdlovsk, scribbled a quick note for is supervisor before going home. "Filter clogged so I've removed it. Replacement necessary..."

  ...when the night shift manager came on duty, he scanned the logbook. Finding nothing unusual, he gave the command to start the machines up again. A fine dust containing anthrax spores and chemical additives swept through the exhaust pipes into the night air...

  ...The Soviet Union later claimed that 96 people were stricken with the disease and 66 died. The scientist who was working in the Sverdlovsk facility at the time told me the death toll was 105... What is certain is that it was the worst single outbreak of inhalational anthrax on record this century."

  At the time, the West had no idea that the Biopreparat program existed, due to the extreme secrecy on the Soviet side. This exposure was supposed to lead to more transparency and a shutdown of the Soviet biowarfare program, and expansion of international anti-biowar treaties.

  Reading about this in 2000, I recall thinking "Thank God that's all in the past - no more state biowarfare programs, just your ineffective lone nuts sprinkling Salmonella on salad bars. What a relief."

  It is now fairly apparent, however, that Alibek's defection to the U.S. led to a "catch-up" mentality within some sectors of the U.S. military during the 1990s - and some people saw that biowarfare fears could be quite profitable, as well.

  Consider what noted journalist Laurie Garrett had to say about biowarfare tests (pg 501, Betrayal of Trust):

  "A year later officials from the Pentagon, several other federal agencies, and the New York City government would role-play an anthrax terrorism event. In their scenario somebody placed aerosolizers inside Grand Central Station at rush hour, releasing anthrax spores. Two weeks later in this scenario Gotham was a ghost town because millions had fled in panic, antibiotic supplies were long since depleted, more than a million people were dead or ailing, the NYSE had collapsed, and law and order had broken down."

  This is a topic that goes undiscussed, unbelievably enough - what if the letter writer had taken 10 grams of anthrax spores and done that instead of mailing them in carefully taped envelopes - that leaked anyway? Just opening one envelope in the Hart Office Building was enough to infect 30 people - that's a weaponized anthrax preparation.

  The way to prevent things like this from happening again is to expand the scope of international biowarfare treaties, especially their transparecy and compliance sections - another topic that the press has refused to touch. I thought that the Sunshine Project was keeping tabs on this, but some time I ago I discovered they had shut down due to lack of funds. Great.

  In any case, everything I've said I've referenced to authoritative sources - so if you want to attack those sources, go ahead and good luck. If you want to know who I am and what I normally focus on, just go to Google and type in the following:

  site:www.realclimate.org "ike solem"

  qualifications to comment on technical issues?

  B.S. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

  M.S. Ocean Sciences in area of marine microbiology

  NSF Graduate Student Fellowship (Microbiology) 1998-2001

  you can also email me at ike_solm@hotmail.com

  (publishers and agents only please!)

  —CargoCult Read CargoCult's other letters
  Permalink
  Flag
  Click "Submit Flag" if you feel this post is inappropriate. Explain why below if you wish.

  Cancel