In a paper for the Federation of American Scientists released last week, Barbara Hatch Rosenberg, a microbiologist at New York State University, laid out evidence for her claim that whoever is behind the anthrax attacks is probably a U.S. citizen with some ties to the military (see GSN, Jan. 4).

“The FBI has surely known for several months that the anthrax attack was an inside job,” Rosenberg wrote.  She added that experts believe there are only about 50 people with the background and access needed to carry out the attacks. 

“By now the FBI must have a good idea of who the perpetrator is,” Rosenberg wrote.  In her analysis of the known information on the anthrax strain used in the attacks, Rosenberg found the following:

*         All the tainted letters sent contained the same strain of anthrax — the Ames strain.

*         There are only about 20 laboratories with stocks of the Ames strain, and out of these, only four U.S. facilities also had the capability to weaponize anthrax.

*         Genetic testing conducted on Ames strain samples taken from several laboratories indicate they match the strain used in the attack.  These facilities all received their Ames strain stocks from the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases in Fort Detrick, Md.

Rosenberg also examined the methods that the perpetrator used to process the anthrax and found the following:

*         The spores have a narrow size range, which is similar to the optimal U.S. weaponization process.

*         The high concentration and purity of the spores is believed to be similar to anthrax made through the U.S. process.

*         The inventor of the U.S. weaponization process, William Patrick, holds five secret patents and said it involves a number of chemicals.  There is no evidence that any other country knows the process.

*         The anthrax spores are unmilled and the U.S. process does not use milling.

*         A sample taken from the spores in the letter sent to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) included silica, which is used in the U.S. process.  Also, a special coating has been detected on the spores.

In her analysis, Rosenberg detailed several other clues that would help narrow down the person responsible.  They include:

*         A classified 1999 report, written by Patrick, described a potential anthrax attack launched through the mail.  The methods described in the report are similar to those used in the actual attacks.  If whoever is responsible for the attack had access to anthrax samples and technical knowledge, they also likely had access to this report and could have used it as a model, according to Rosenberg.

*         Whoever is responsible placed warning notes in the tainted letters, which is not indicative of anti-U.S. terrorists.  The person likely knew the attacks would lead to a move to strengthen U.S. defenses and might have had the ability to gain from increased funding for such programs.

*         The attack’s targets appear to have been chosen to guarantee a large amount of publicity and could mean the attacker might have right-wing political sentiments.

*         The person responsible left no physical traces on the envelopes, which could mean the culprit has a background or training in forensics.

*         Whoever is responsible probably received the anthrax vaccine for protection before producing the anthrax or filling the letters.  The scarcity of the vaccine and available records could help investigators focus on a suspect.

“Future deterrence, and the peace of mind of the American people, require that the perpetrator must be publicly identified and brought to justice without delay,” Rosenberg wrote (Federation of American Scientists release, Jan. 17).

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