For those of you who are tired of hearing about anthrax, I apologize in advance . . .
The delivery method and the targets of the anthrax spores tell us several things about the perpetrators. The attacks utilize extremely uncomplicated and unconventional (though not new) methods: that of using our communications infrastructure as a cheap and effective method for spreading bio-agents.
Why anthrax instead of, say, Serin?
1) The bacterium, Bacillus anthracis, is very easy to acquire. It can be found in many research labs and exists in livestock all around the world.
2) It is relatively easy to cultivate and isolate.
3) It can be highly lethal in certain forms.
4) A vaccine is available, so terrorists can use it without fear of infection.
5) It can survive in spore form for long periods of time and needs only a simple special storage apparatus.
The fact that mail was used as the method of delivery shows some limitations of anthrax as a weapon. It may be easy to procure, but the final steps of making it intensely lethal are difficult. For example, Iraq has struggled making weapons-grade anthrax, and finally settled on a liquid form, which lessens its effectiveness and ease of use. A Japanese cult, Aum Shinrikyo (I may have spelled that wrong) tried releasing anthrax in Tokyo several times, all attempts were unsuccessful.
In addition, the use of anthrax and mail tells us that those responsible haven?t yet produced sufficient quantities and don?t have an appropriate delivery method for a large strike. So, by targeting the media and politicians, the perpetrators have gained maximum effect with minimum effort. A handful of mail = thousands of false alarms and hoaxes = tying up public services, spreading panic among the public, and interfering with mail delivery.
Finally, if those involved are connected to al Queda, we can infer something else about why they targeted politicians and reporters. Remember that Bin Laden needs to undermine the U.S. led coalition, and to do so he needs the sympathy of Arab and Muslim nations. The attack on the WTC was seen by much of the Islamic community as excessive, resulting in too many civilian deaths to be justifiable for American and Israeli actions. Several prominent Muslim clerics publicly denounced the attack, saying it was ?no jihad? and put at risk millions of Muslims around the world. So, a large-scale anthrax attack would further weaken Osama?s position among Muslim nations. But, politicians and the media could be considered legitimate military targets, which when attacked continues the terror war within America (which is very important for Osama for reasons I won?t go into here) and doesn?t distance Osama from Muslim states. So, the odds of a large-scale strike against a large metropolitan area is slim because of political and technical reasons.
Expect the next terrorist strike to be quite different, with the goals of keeping Washington off-balance and further disrupting the ability of the U.S. to return to normal.
The delivery method and the targets of the anthrax spores tell us several things about the perpetrators. The attacks utilize extremely uncomplicated and unconventional (though not new) methods: that of using our communications infrastructure as a cheap and effective method for spreading bio-agents.
Why anthrax instead of, say, Serin?
1) The bacterium, Bacillus anthracis, is very easy to acquire. It can be found in many research labs and exists in livestock all around the world.
2) It is relatively easy to cultivate and isolate.
3) It can be highly lethal in certain forms.
4) A vaccine is available, so terrorists can use it without fear of infection.
5) It can survive in spore form for long periods of time and needs only a simple special storage apparatus.
The fact that mail was used as the method of delivery shows some limitations of anthrax as a weapon. It may be easy to procure, but the final steps of making it intensely lethal are difficult. For example, Iraq has struggled making weapons-grade anthrax, and finally settled on a liquid form, which lessens its effectiveness and ease of use. A Japanese cult, Aum Shinrikyo (I may have spelled that wrong) tried releasing anthrax in Tokyo several times, all attempts were unsuccessful.
In addition, the use of anthrax and mail tells us that those responsible haven?t yet produced sufficient quantities and don?t have an appropriate delivery method for a large strike. So, by targeting the media and politicians, the perpetrators have gained maximum effect with minimum effort. A handful of mail = thousands of false alarms and hoaxes = tying up public services, spreading panic among the public, and interfering with mail delivery.
Finally, if those involved are connected to al Queda, we can infer something else about why they targeted politicians and reporters. Remember that Bin Laden needs to undermine the U.S. led coalition, and to do so he needs the sympathy of Arab and Muslim nations. The attack on the WTC was seen by much of the Islamic community as excessive, resulting in too many civilian deaths to be justifiable for American and Israeli actions. Several prominent Muslim clerics publicly denounced the attack, saying it was ?no jihad? and put at risk millions of Muslims around the world. So, a large-scale anthrax attack would further weaken Osama?s position among Muslim nations. But, politicians and the media could be considered legitimate military targets, which when attacked continues the terror war within America (which is very important for Osama for reasons I won?t go into here) and doesn?t distance Osama from Muslim states. So, the odds of a large-scale strike against a large metropolitan area is slim because of political and technical reasons.
Expect the next terrorist strike to be quite different, with the goals of keeping Washington off-balance and further disrupting the ability of the U.S. to return to normal.
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