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As U.S. leaders attempt to hold down the rhetoric and speculation about Anthrax based bio-terrorism after the death of three victims, one begins to consider other scenarios besides the Bin Laden connection.  This is the second of a three part series that explores the other possibilities for the source of the bio-weapon unleashed on the U.S.

And Do You Believe Saddam Is Just Sitting There Waiting?

No evidence of who planted Anthrax in our nation's capital?  Osama Bin Laden's Al-Qaida not implicated?

Who else hates America enough to grow a little Anthrax.  Perhaps some more deadly agents?  Who has the capabilities and who has shown that they can not only grow the spores but has already been documented as deploying bio-weapons?

Of course, you'll see where we are going.  Saddam Hussein has had more than enough time to restart, regenerate and make fully operational his bio-warfare production facilities.  And the U.S. mail is a perfect weapon for his regime.  Untraceable in the most part, and extremely exciting to watch from afar.  All you have to do is smuggle an agent into Trenton, New Jersey, drop off one, two, or even ten letters and they fly out the next morning smugly assured of the most successful terrorist attack on the U.S.  What you ask?  Worse than the WTC?  No not in numbers, but perhaps more along the lines of more terrifying.

Americans are inspecting their mail like surgeons looking for a place to set down their knife and begin the primary incision.  Images of people tossing their mail into the microwave or even less effective, ironing their mail.

Our Chief Editor spoke to a small classroom of school children.  Telling them they were safe, but just like not taking rides in a car with strangers, one should let mom and dad open letters.  And the 11 year old asks, "But what about Halloween."  Yes.  What about taking candy from complete strangers?  What about walking around at night on streets crowded with the most tender and vulnerable of all American citizens.

If the WTC attack was more unbelievable than even the worst horror movie producers could imagine (many say they would have rejected such a story prior to September 11), imagine a story of an attack on Halloween kids in multiple cities across the nation!

So yes, the terror generated by this simple and relatively minor Anthrax attack is considerable.  And when the story ends -- hopefully real soon -- we will be waiting for the next installment to begin.  And for a while, the terrorists will have won again.

Tests with rats have shown that anticipation of danger is more stressful -- by a magnitudes of difference -- then the actual delivery of pain.  So the time after we feel this incident is over will be even more stressful than now!

Iraqi Capabilities

So why Saddam Hussein?  Simple.  He already has what is called "dual use" equipment.  That is, equipment that can be used to create and manufacturer medicines.  And in large quantities.  Anyone with some time on their hands and a basic amount of bio-chemistry training  -- like a  person who manufactures medicines -- could be a bio-weapons manufacturer.  Physician by day, Killer by night.  Don't laugh, it isn't Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  It's Dr. Mustafa  and Mr. Mohammad.

U.N. inspectors played a dangerous cat and mouse game during those days we were allowed inspections in Iraq.  No less than three major production plants and perhaps a dozen smaller facilities were on the inspection lists, all capable of producing at least one bio or chemical agent that could be used in terrorist attacks on the U.S.  The U.N. inspectors released figures on the quantities destroyed -- that which was found -- which stagger the imagination -- enough anthrax to place a letter in the hands of every mayor, governor, and perhaps elementary school principal in the U.S.  And that was the stockpiles the U.N. inspectors found and at the facilities they were able to inspect.  In the years since, the entire program could have been fully rebuilt and producing major quantities of any number of more deadly agents.  Or Saddam could be simply breeding his Anthrax strains content to go with what works...and obviously this attack has worked quite nicely from his perspective.

Growing spores can be done by any high school chemistry student.    Harvesting and replicating smaller and smaller spores until you stockpile enough of just the right size, only takes time and patience.  Given the dual use equipment in the hands of Saddam Hussein, Iraq could generate some 100 pounds per month of a viable sub-cutaneous anthrax agent, and in three months more than enough small spore variety to infect the main post offices of the NFL cities.

No fingerprints at the Molecular Level

Unfortunately, if Saddam is involved, unless we catch the mad mailer in the act, there is little if any chance of tracing this back.  Our only hope is that if some marker was detected during the Iraqi inspection regime of years ago that now appears in this strain.  Again, not very likely.  Or of course, we could catch a mad mailer in the act, and link him back to Saddam.
 

Delivery

And who doesn't believe Saddam couldn't figure out how to get one agent into this country, do the mailing and then scoot back out undetected.If Bin Laden can get more than a dozen terrorists into this nation.  The really frightening part is the number of agents Iraq could have in country.  We could have bio-terror episodes once a month for a year and not deplete the band of agents pulled together by Saddam Hussein.  Again any major city is at risk, and the terror level could ratchet up out of control in a very short time.

We'll stop now.  This is scarey enough without carrying it to the natural conclusion and ourselves creating terror.

Next:  Are our new friends laughing at US?  Iran and bio-terror.

© Copyright 2001, Michael Crawford - MILNET

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