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VERY Fishy: Anthrax scientist commits suicide as FBI closes in
How utterly convenient. :-/
A top U.S. biodefense
researcher apparently committed suicide just as the Justice Department
was about to file criminal charges against him in the anthrax mailings
that traumatized the nation in the weeks following the Sept. 11, 2001,
terrorist attacks, according to a published report.
The scientist, Bruce E. Ivins, 62, who worked for the past 18 years
at the government's biodefense labs at Fort Detrick, Md., had been told
about the impending prosecution, the Los Angeles Times reported for
Friday editions. The laboratory has been at the center of the FBI's
investigation of the anthrax attacks, which killed five people.
Ivins died Tuesday at Frederick (Md.) Memorial Hospital. The Times,
quoting an unidentified colleague, said the scientist had taken a
massive dose of a prescription Tylenol mixed with codeine.
Comments (18)
Link: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/07/31/national/w221515D10.DTL&tsp=1
August 1, 2008 1:42 AM | Reply | Permalink
Coralsea:
Was this the same guy who was under suspicion for so long, or someone else?
August 1, 2008 2:17 AM | Reply | Permalink
different guy: the person of interest was Dr. Steven Hatfill
August 1, 2008 2:32 AM | Reply | Permalink
it's interesting that the AP article doesn't call it a terrorist attack. even though:
....anthrax mailings that traumatized the nation in the weeks following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to a published report.
that seems like terrorism (traumatized)?
i guess you have to keep the brown people terrorism from the regular white people crime so you don't get the narrative off-track
August 1, 2008 2:29 AM | Reply | Permalink
i guess it doesn't have an overt political/coercive motive, however i suspect there is one.
maybe:
- more grant money
- volunteer firefighter sort of thing to be the hero
- push the US into an even greater feeling of crises so the government would do something crazy (no help needed there), eg nukes in return for a biological attack.
- etc
August 1, 2008 2:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
anthrax was sent to the media, and the only govt attack was on the two guys who opposed the Patriot Act, and who could actually keep it from being passed.
"Two more anthrax letters, bearing the same Trenton postmark, were dated October 9, three weeks after the first mailing. The letters were addressed to two Democratic Senators, Tom Daschle of South Dakota and Patrick Leahy of Vermont. At the time Daschle was the Senate Majority leader and Leahy was head of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Both were identified in the media[6] as holding up the proposed Patriot Act because of concerns that some parts of it would violate civil liberties."
August 1, 2008 12:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
Guess that explains the "sloppiness" at Fort Detrick that got reported on all those years ago ...
http://www.stevequayle.com/News.alert/04_Disease/041014.anthrax.html
August 1, 2008 3:05 AM | Reply | Permalink
Chino Blanco -
Did the "suicided' scientist ever show any "lone wolf " terrorist traits ? The anthrax investigation is the most important one we have yet to get resolved -in the eight year annals of gwb43 mismanagement & criminal activity.
Its also very troubling that Hatfield got that huge settlement from gwb43, could that have been hush money ?
This is very scary stuff wmd grade anthrax loose with no perps arrested -approaching "Seven Days in May " high drama here - except this time its the neo cons instead of the Generals we need to keep an eye on...
And why was Ft Detrick allowed to be so sloppy so long ?
August 1, 2008 5:24 AM | Reply | Permalink
I don't know. Maybe "lone wacko" could shed some light:
http://lonewacko.com
Agreed it's scary, but I've got nothing to add, other than that I also agree this whole story deserves more attention.
August 1, 2008 9:46 AM | Reply | Permalink
Another link for those interested ...
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/8/1/105141/0667/754/560624
August 1, 2008 11:21 AM | Reply | Permalink
Otherwise, check out Atrios:
http://www.eschatonblog.com/
Duncan's all over it.
August 1, 2008 11:28 AM | Reply | Permalink
That didn't turn out well. I'm sure they were hoping for a whole bunch of 'terrorist' trials leading up to the election. Guess they'll have to fall back on McCain's hope that there's an attack.
August 1, 2008 12:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
It turned out fine as the guy was not a Muslim and anyone who helped, paid or set him up as a (dead) patsy will almost certainly never be caught.
'Disposing' of people who can be blamed as sole perpetrators for a heinous crime is a very old mob technique. It has also been done in so-called 'banana republics' - which the USA seems to be transitioning into under Bush.
August 2, 2008 1:43 AM | Reply | Permalink
For those who don't get my point, the administration is only interested in Muslim based terror, not wingnut evangelical pro-Israel terrorists. The script must be followed.
The man may or may not have been involved or may have been just set up as the fall guy, but his death closes the case.
August 2, 2008 1:46 AM | Reply | Permalink
This story has always been fishy. We forget that the administration attempted to blame the anthrax attacks on Iraq, and that our news media are now covering up the administration officials who disseminated such disinformation.
We forget about the notes written by the attacker containing anti-American, anti-Israel, radical Islam messages.
Now that we know that Iraq was not involved, that it was an insider job by an American scientist, the scientist commits suicide.
Richard Cohen writes that he was forewarned of the attacks.
August 1, 2008 5:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
Glenn Greenwald over at salon.com is, as expected, all over this today.
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/08/01/anthrax/index.html
Re yesterday's thread here about ABC practicing blog censorship, I draw your attention to Glenn's 'Update VI' at linked article.
August 1, 2008 6:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
Keith O had a reporter from the LA Times who has been following this story for quite some time. Apparently the guy was seriously unhinged.
A really interesting take on this
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22425001/vp/25978240#25978240
August 2, 2008 1:22 AM | Reply | Permalink
Some odd coincidences about the anthrax attacks;
1. The first letter was mailed about a week after 9/11, letters associated with the attacks tried to implicate Muslims, and some experts said the mailing must have been planned prior to 9/11 as it took time to get and prepare them. The incident stoked terror fears and tied in well with the Iraq WMD PR and scaremongering of Bush/Cheney. Recall that 'Death to Israel, America' was written on some envelopes.
2. One of the biggest coincidences was that White House (Bush/Cheney)staff started on anti-anthrax CIPRO on 9/11, before the first letter was even mailed, see: link
3. Patrick Leahy and Tom Daschle, Democratic Senate leaders who were considering the 'Patriot' Act were the only recipients on Capitol Hill. They passed the Act as soon as their offices were decontaminated.
Odd that now the whole thing can be blamed on one man, who conveniently is dead, and no trial will ever be held.
August 2, 2008 1:30 AM | Reply | Permalink
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