What would an autopsy have shown? The cause of death, maybe.

Since we don't know what tests were run on him in the hospital, or his condition on entering the hospital, or any of a number of things, an autopsy could only have helped clarify this.

So tell us what tests were run on Ivins in the hospital. What condition was he in when he arrived at the hospital? Any signs of trauma, such as would occur if someone possibly forced the pills down his throat? Any suspicious bruises? Any tissue samples show any long-term poisoning? Do we know from the tests if the amount of tylenol in the bloodstream was in some proportion to the codeine found that would indicate that the source of the poisoning was tylenol 3? Do we even know if he was ever conscious after he was brought to the hospital? Did he say anything?

Under the pressure he lived with I can quite easily imagine someone being driven to suicide. But that's all it is. Imagination. So far none of us have seen any medical records involving Ivins sickness and death that I'm aware of. And my guess is that we won't.

Susan: it sounds to me like Bruce Ivins identified with the Christian Nation Express:

"Third, you can get on board or get left behind, because that Christian Nation Express is pulling out of the station!"

And his remark about Jews as the chosen people carried not the slightest trace of irony. If he meant the opposite of what he said, he would have been indulging in crude and rude antisemtic sarcasm of the heavy variety. JTA had no problem correctly parsing his statements.

i feel as though i have been trained by this maladministration to think that way -- then i think but this latest rovian weapon of mass distraction mumbo-jumbo shenanigan appears to implicate them even further, i.e., did cheneybush have access to stuff from ft. detrick as well (via their surrogates)?

would help to explain the fbi's insistent and demented claim that ivins acted alone. i mean, how can that be proved?

The piece quoted reflects a very pro-West pro-white version of events in the former Rhodesia. In fact, it was during the war of independence that the Selous Scouts fought an irregular war in rural Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) using, among other things, anthrax to kill cattle and black farmers. So, at least from Hatfill's resume, he was part of a government program (the Rhodesian government) where anthrax was used to poison and kill people.

Having said that, no one has ever been able to link Hatfill to the anthrax in Zimbabwe OR the anthrax letters here.

That "Greendale" can be used by the FBI to prove the guilt of both Hatfill and Ivins suggests that it is evidence of nothing beyond the FBI's intentional incompetence and need to find a patsy. My guess is that if the FBI fingered these two guys, look elsewhere for the guilty party.

I haven't seen his medical records, but his physician, his family or the FBI could have requested an autopsy ... As far as we know, none did.

He was examined by emergency personnel, by his own physician and, almost doubtless, by consultants, nurses and others.

We don't know his pre-EMS timeline ... but anyone could have cried "foul play" and called in the coroner's department or the police or the FBI. As far as we know, nobody did. Too bad they didn't call you.

If the FBI had wanted an autopsy, it probably, almost certainly, would have been done.

If the family wanted an autospy, it absolutely would have been done.

You and others seem to feel that the public's "need to know" overrides the judgement/wishes of the family and responsible authorities. Sorry, I don't.

After delving deep into these documents, (see prior comments), one of the stories has to be: Who thought that releasing these documents was a good idea?

The documents are sloppy, self-contradictory, full of typos ("Micrososft"), rely on tenuous threads (the KKG depends entirely on a office being located near a mailbox), have truly torturous logic (saving one's written and typed correspondence somehow relates to using 9-digit ZIP codes - and this relation suggests guilt), and seem outright desperate.

Who is served by the FBI and US Postal Inspector looking blisteringly incompetent? Or is the management simply unaware of what blistering incompetence looks like?

"We are confident that Dr. Ivins was the only person responsible for these attacks," Taylor told a news conference at the Justice Department.

"We are confident that Dr. Ivins was the only person responsible for these attacks," Taylor told a news conference at the Justice Department.

"We are confident that Dr. Ivins was the only person responsible for these attacks," Taylor told a news conference at the Justice Department.

"We are confident that Dr. Ivins was the only person responsible for these attacks," Taylor told a news conference at the Justice Department

So, to answer my questions, the answer is you don't know. You don't know what's in his medical records, what pressure was used on his family to avoid an autopsy. You don't know about how that decision process went down.

Which is why there should have been an autopsy.

By the way, if you are suggesting that the FBI would have asked for an autopsy if they suspected foul play then maybe you ought to go back to watching cable news.

You say that blood tests were run. What blood tests? Don't guess, tell us what the results were. What do those results prove.

Was there any evidence of recent injections? Did any tissue samples show any other kind of poisons or toxins in his system?

You don't know. You assume. Trust is a wonderful thing. It's just not very useful in investigating a suspicious death of someone involved in a high-profile crime.

What is clear after all these documents were dumped is that we have very few facts on anything.

07-529-M-01 Bottom of page 15 and top of page 16:

"CW-2(case witness 2) was living in Gaithersburg Maryland at the time the letter to the editor was published. CW-2 has known and communicated with Dr. Ivins for the past 30 years and(?) the letter (?) was brought to it's attention, shortly after its publication in the paper, it denied writing it [unintelligible] contacted the Frederick News-Post and complained. The paper informed CW-2 that the letter appeared legitimate, possibly because its return address was provided with the letter, they did not feel the need to authenticate the letter prior to publishing" *"case witness two" added by me.

I get the feeling that this part of the case relies on the suspicion that Dr. Ivins was impersonating a member of the KKG organization in order to defame them by defending hazing practices in a public forum.

For whatever it's worth.

I lived in Frederick County from 1981-1998 and took the opportunity to write letters to the FredNewsPost on several occasions (zoning discussions). Every time a phone number was required, they would call to authenticate.

For whatever that is worth.