http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/archives/display_detail.htm?StoryID=25736

Sept 21, editorial

Technological terror

Originally published September 21, 2001

The biggest problem in defending against such destructive technologies as biological agents like anthrax and smallpox, and poisonous gases like sarin is that the technology to create, package, transport and deploy them is either here or could be developed. The packages could be small, and an ordinary suitcase might hold enough anthrax bacteria or sarin gas to sicken or kill tens of thousand or more. A small nuclear device, also believed to be developable, could, well, we'd rather not think about it. Of course, we have to.

Over at TPM they are linking to the following article:

http://www.propublica.org/article/ivins-troubled-but-fbi-docs-fall-short-807/

From the article, "Also, though it was not brought up at the press conference, initial coverage had focused on Ivins' apparent failure to report on anthrax spill. (That might be because Ivins actually did tell someone about the spill.)

The article also shows some disturbing things about Ivins, that the FBI did not follow up on.

Selective leaking might be a case of simple CYA and trying to hide embarassing FBI mistakes from coming to light.

I only have search and preview, but e.g., searching for anthrax in the WaPo, Sept 10 - Sept 27, 2001

Bioterrorism: An Even More Devastating Threat

[FINAL Edition]

The Washington Post - Washington, D.C.

Author: Rick Weiss

Date: Sep 17, 2001

Start Page: A.24

Section: A SECTION

Text Word Count: 1080

It's called bioterrorism, and experts say it would be a lot easier to conduct and is more likely to occur in the next few years than a replay of last week's terrorist tragedies. A small cloud of bacteria or viruses could easily and silently infect tens of thousands of people, triggering fatal outbreaks of anthrax, smallpox, pneumonic plague or any of a dozen other deadly diseases. And victims infected with contagious ailments could pass the microbes to thousands of others before doctors even figured out what was going on.

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Taking Bio-Warfare Seriously

[FINAL Edition]

The Washington Post - Washington, D.C.

Date: Sep 23, 2001

Start Page: B.06

Section: EDITORIAL

Text Word Count: 318

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Going Too Far

[FINAL Edition]

The Washington Post - Washington, D.C.

Date: Sep 22, 2001

Start Page: A.27

Section: EDITORIAL

Text Word Count: 213

The Sept. 17 graphic "Sowing a Silent Massacre" was informative but perhaps too much so, as it illustrates useful considerations for ensuring maximum damage (from anthrax), including flight path of a plane and wind direction over Washington. I was surprised the article didn't also include contact information for research and pathology laboratories known to produce such spores.

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Suspect May Have Wanted to Buy Plane; Inquiries Reported On Crop- Duster Loan

[FINAL Edition]

The Washington Post - Washington, D.C.

Author: Rick Weiss and Justin Blum

Date: Sep 25, 2001

Start Page: A.12

Section: A SECTION

Text Word Count: 1135

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The End of Our Holiday From History

[FINAL Edition]

The Washington Post - Washington, D.C.

Author: George F. Will

Date: Sep 12, 2001

Start Page: A.31

Section: EDITORIAL

Text Word Count: 748

[supposedly mentions anthrax]

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Al Qaeda May Have Crude Chemical, Germ Capabilities

[FINAL Edition]

The Washington Post - Washington, D.C.

Author: Vernon Loeb and John Ward Anderson

Date: Sep 27, 2001

Start Page: A.18

Section: A SECTION

Text Word Count: 968

NYT articles on Cipro - Sept 10, 2001 - Sept 27, 2001:

Sorry, no links, and reproducing only a few lines:

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A NATION CHALLENGED: FEAR OF INFECTIONS; Anthrax Scare Prompts Run on an Antibiotic

By TAMAR LEWIN

Published: September 27, 2001

Many New Yorkers -- and to a lesser extent, people across the country -- are stocking up on Cipro, an antibiotic that they believe can be used to treat anthrax....Sebastian Manciameli, a pharmacist at Zitomer Pharmacy on Manhattan's Upper East Side, said: ''We can't keep it in stock. It started the day after the World Trade Center, with a few prescriptions, and now there's more and more.''

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Liberties; From Botox to Botulism

By MAUREEN DOWD

Published: September 26, 2001

Women I know in New York and Washington debate whether to order Israeli vs. Marine Corps gas masks, and half-hour lightweight gas masks vs. $400 eight-hour gas masks, baby gas masks and pet gas masks, with the same meticulous attention they gave to ordering no-foam-no-fat-no-whip lattes in more innocent days. They share information on which pharmacies still have Cipro, Zithromax and Doxycycline, all antibiotics that can be used for anthrax, the way they once traded tips on designer shoe bargains. They talk more now about real botulism than its trendy cosmetic derivative Botox.

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Those are the two that I found.

I used to listen to Howard Stern sometimes and he used to read the appeals for funds from the AFA for whatever stupid thing Stern had last said. I daresay there were people around the country that clutched their pearls and then donated to try and keep Stern's "filth" off the air. They weren't all anti-semites, gay bashers, weirdos, more likely suckers getting their pockets picked.

The same was very true of the AFA's appeals to help fight the lyrics in some rap music. Some lyrics could get all sorts of people riled up and offended. The AFA (and Wildmon) profited from this.

Let's just agree to disagree on how we read Ivin's letters and emails. I really view them differently than you do.

p.s. My grandmother who kind of liked Reagan except for the fact that he was way too liberal subscribed me up to get the John Birch magazine (I forget the name) a gazillion years ago. I got the thing for years and at first found it amusing and eventually scary. I wonder how that would look if it was being used to define my upbringing or views.

Sean: I haven't been paying full attention enough to properly gauge your point, so forgive me if I misunderstand something. But, are you suggesting that Ivins felt the need to mail those letters using that terminology because he wanted to increase the chances of a holy war between US/Israel and the muslim world?

I realize I may be mis-reading you.

Anyway, regarding Ivins ties to this religious organization, how many of the FBI released emails demonstrate that he was adamently and rigidly in league with their beliefs? Are we basing this just on a couple of less than incindiary letters to the editor?

If we accept that Ivins was prone to obsessiveness and paranoia AND also felt strongly about these religious beliefs, wouldn't the FBI have found emails from him demonstrating his rigorous stance?

If he's a zealot as you seem to be claiming, it's hard to imagine there wouldn't be more evidence backing this up, certainly the FBI would think it was relevant. But their motive is that he wanted to draw attention to the need for anthrax vaccines.

This raises a larger question - shouldn't there be a thorough examination of ALL emails the FBI accrued sent from Ivins? Anyone can pick and choose a few emails over the course of seven years and come up with lots of different depictions of someone, if you want to make a case for it. Understanding his full character would be necessary, I would think, in determining what his core personality was.