International Response: U.S. Action in Afghanistan Draws Response

The United Nations could be crucial to political reconstruction in Afghanistan if U.S. military strikes lead to the overthrow of the country's ruling Taliban, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell told NBC yesterday.

"The United Nations might well have to play a very, very important role in a post-Taliban world," Powell said.  "We want to see eventually arise in Afghanistan a government that represents all the people," he added, describing a multinational effort to rebuild the country.  "It's important for all of us to recognize that, in a post-Taliban Afghanistan, we will have important work to do -- humanitarian work, economic development, helping the people of Afghanistan and putting in place some level of stability that has so far eluded Afghanistan in recent years" (Nicholas Kralev, Washington Times, Oct. 11).

The Financial Times reports that governments do not see the opposition Northern Alliance, which has been aided by the U.S.-U.K. campaign, as the best candidate for a future government.  The Northern Alliance "could not alone form a government.  That is our assessment.  When they did try it was pretty hopeless," British Prime Minister Tony Blair, whose country has participated in the U.S.-led strikes, said.  Another British official said London supports a multiethnic government and would accept a U.N.-led bid to create one (Stephen Fidler, Financial Times, Oct. 11).

U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, who met Tuesday with Blair and left London for Paris yesterday, is expected to play an important role in shaping a post-Taliban regime, the London Guardian reports.  Brahimi yesterday described Taliban Supreme Leader Mohamed Omar as "very shy, soft-spoken and still very uncomfortable about his missing right eye" and "quite inflexible" (Jonathan Steele, London Guardian, Oct. 11).

U.S. bombing of Kabul, the capital, and other Afghan sites continues today, with hundreds of civilians fleeing the Taliban spiritual capital of Kandahar.  Contradicting U.S. claims, the Taliban said civilians have been targeted by the strikes, a claim rejected by British Defense Minister Geoff Hoon.

U.S. military activity is reportedly taking place at Pakistan's Jacobabad airport.  "These are operational areas," said a Pakistani official.  "Logistical support is being provided to the United States.  Any other further comments could jeopardize the tactical planning and secretiveness of what is going on."

According to what a U.S. official called "highly credible" sources, several senior Taliban leaders, including two adult male relatives of the supreme leader, died Sunday in the first allied strikes (CNN.com, Oct. 11).

Amid speculation of a wider war following a U.S. letter to the U.N. Security Council in which Ambassador John Negroponte referred to "further actions with respect to other organizations and other states," Blair said any expansion of the war would be preceded by consultations with allies.

"If there were evidence that a country was actually helping terrorists, that would be important, but before we take any action, we will deliberate and discuss with other allies," Blair said as he visited U.K. troops in Oman (Washington Times, Oct. 11).

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, in an interview today with BBC Radio, added that London has no evidence linking Iraq to the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States and is planning no military action outside Afghanistan (Agence France-Presse, Oct. 11).

Former U.S. CIA Director James Woolsey, however, reportedly went to the United Kingdom last month seeking evidence against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in relation to the attacks.  U.S. officials said Woolsey, who has advanced the idea that Iraq was behind both the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and last month's attacks, has conducted two such missions this year (Warren Strobel, Knight Ridder/Miami Herald, Oct. 11).

U.S. Ambassador to Egypt David Welch said today that Washington will pursue suspected terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network "wherever it appears."

"Our evidence is rock solid against the al-Qaeda organization led by Osama bin what's-his-name," Welch said.  "We don't know where the evidence might lead in the future or what tentacles this organization has elsewhere in the world, but we feel ourselves obliged to go after that problem wherever it appears."  That does not mean Arab countries will be attacked, Welch added (AFP II, Oct. 11).

President George W. Bush yesterday released a new FBI "most wanted" list of 22 alleged terrorists, including bin Laden and suspects wanted in 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Africa; the 1985 hijacking of a TWA Athens-to-Rome flight, in which U.S. navy diver Robert Stethem was tortured, killed and thrown onto a Beirut, Lebanon, runway; the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia; the 1993 World Trade Center bombing; and a foiled 1995 bid to blow up 11 commercial airplanes en route to the United States from Asia.  Rewards offered for information on the suspects go as high as $5 million for two bin Laden aides and $7 million for bin Laden himself (Lenny Savino, Miami Herald, Oct. 11).

Bin Laden is the single biggest Taliban funding source, having given the regime $100 million in cash and military aid in the last five years, sources citing intelligence presented recently to Bush told the Washington Post.  The CIA believes bin Laden "owns and operates" the Taliban, the sources said (Bob Woodward, Washington Post, Oct. 11).

Meanwhile, the reeling Taliban is seeking to ally itself with two leaders of Afghanistan's Pashtun majority, former Afghan Prime Minister and current Hizbe-Islami leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyr and Hizbe Wahdat-Khalili head Yunis Khalis.  Hekmatyr said last week that he prefers the Taliban to former King Zahir Shah, who is in exile and has discussed Afghanistan's future with U.S. officials and others.

"We will seek everyone's support against the aggressors," a Taliban spokesman said (Robert Marquand, Christian Science Monitor, Oct. 11).

"At the moment, we are weak; we cannot defend from the aircraft, from the cruise missiles, and this is stronger than our capability," Taliban Ambassador to Pakistan Abdul Salam Zaeef told the BBC.  "We can fight with them when they enter into Afghanistan.  We are waiting for them to enter Afghanistan. ... They should find a very strong reaction from the people" (Zubeida Malik, BBC Online, Oct. 10).

The opposition, though, is claiming important gains.  A Northern Alliance spokesman said the key province of Gur fell last night during heavy fighting (Ananova/London Guardian, Oct. 11).  Eighty Taliban commanders and 2,000 soldiers have surrendered in two days, the opposition said (South China Morning Post, Oct. 11).

Straw, the British foreign secretary, echoed the opposition claims.  "There is no doubt the Taliban regime have been weakened," he said.  "We can't say exactly what is going on inside the Taliban regime but we knew in advance of military action being taken on Sunday that there was some fracturing of the Taliban regime.  At the core of the Taliban regime are groups of religious fanatics, but around them are warlords who, for convenience, have tied themselves to the regime, some of whom are peeling away.  I think some of the more thoughtful people in the regime will have recognized that they are facing something they didn't expect, which is pretty enormous hostility from the rest of the world" (Ananova II/London Guardian, Oct. 11).

"The OIC [Organization of the Islamic Conference] has a central role in devising an effective strategy to combat terrorism, not least because your member states have themselves suffered from terrorism," U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, in a message delivered by special adviser for Africa Ibrahim Gambari, told participants at yesterday's final day of a Doha, Qatar, OIC conference.

"Islam and terrorism are not the same, never were and never will be," Annan said (U.N. Newservice, Oct. 10).

The 56 OIC countries issued a statement at the close of the conference condemning the Sept. 11 attacks and, in an implicit reference to the Palestinians, stressing the distinction between terrorism and people's "legitimate right to defend their freedom and self-determination."  The countries rejected "targeting any Islamic or Arab state under the pretext of fighting terrorism" (Warren Richley, Christian Science Monitor, Oct. 11).

Iraq yesterday at the conference cautioned the United States against targeting Baghdad in its potentially expanding fight against terror (Khalaf/Drummond, Financial Times, Oct. 11).

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf yesterday pledged to act "firmly and swiftly" against protesters who damage public property or act against Pakistan's interest.  Anti-American protests have raged in Pakistani cities since Washington began attacking neighboring Afghanistan (Jack Kelley, USA Today, Oct. 11).

Three hundred Iranian students protested in front of the United Nations' Tehran headquarters yesterday and today.  Police dispersed the crowd (AFP III, Oct. 11).

Saudi Arabia has neither frozen the assets of bin Laden and his associates nor cooperated with the investigation into the Sept. 11 attacks, Bush administration officials said yesterday.  The New York Times reports that the country is striving to balance its alliance with Washington with the conservative Islam that is prevalent in Saudi Arabia (Jane Perlez, New York Times, Oct. 11). Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates has acted to criminalize money-laundering networks that may finance terrorism (Barry Shlachter, Knight Ridder/Philadelphia Inquirer, Oct. 11).

Turkey's Parliament yesterday voted to allow Turkish troops to go abroad and foreign troops to be stationed in Turkey in the context of the anti-terrorism campaign (Leyla Boulton, Financial Times, Oct. 11).

Blair was expected in Egypt today as he continues a three-day diplomatic tour of the Middle East.  Egypt has expressed concern over possible action against Iraq and has accused the United Kingdom of harboring a number of suspected Egyptian terrorists (CNN.com II, Oct. 11).  Human Rights Watch yesterday accused Egypt of violating human rights, warning Washington not to ignore the country's "widespread torture, wholesale jailing of critics and other forms of repression as it builds a coalition to respond to the Sept. 11 attacks" (Associated Press/ABCNews.com, Oct. 11).

Spain has said it is willing to send soldiers to replace U.S. and British troops now stationed in the Balkans if those troops are needed in the anti-terror campaign (Diario de Noticias, Oct. 11, UN Wire translation).

Russia and the United States are discussing a new strategic framework reflecting a "clean and clear" break from the Cold War, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Avis Bohlen told the U.N. Disarmament and International Security Committee yesterday, warning the world body to stay out of issues regarding the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.  The use of weapons of mass destruction by terrorists must be taken more seriously following Sept. 11, Bohlen said (U.N. release, Oct. 10).

U.N. headquarters in New York is open to tourists today for the first time since Sept. 11.  Dump trucks and barricades blocking nearby streets will remain in place until at least Nov. 16, Reuters reports (Reuters/Miami Herald, Oct. 11).  In commemoration of the attacks, which occurred one month ago today, a memorial service was held this morning at the World Trade Center site.  New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani was in attendance (CNN.com III, Oct. 11).

The Financial Times says in an editorial today that the OIC's "strongly worded condemnation of the terrorist atrocities in New York and Washington" does not contain a "clear identification of al-Qaeda with the terrorist acts."  In courting Muslim states, Bush and the allies should minimize civilian casualties and be cautious about extending the war beyond Afghanistan, the newspaper says.  Targeting Iraq or other Muslim countries "without irrefutable evidence" would "split the Muslim world and end the common front against al-Qaeda," according to the Financial Times (Financial Times, Oct. 11).

The United States will be asking countries that sponsor terrorism to shut down terrorist camps, end the financing of terrorism and renounce mass violence against civilians, Brookings Institution fellows Ivo Daalder and James Lindsay wrote in yesterday's Financial Times.  A U.S. strategy combining diplomacy, sanctions and law enforcement cooperation "will ultimately rest on the willingness to do elsewhere what the U.S. and its partners are now doing to the Taliban:  destroy the ruling regime," the pair wrote.  European countries should "exercise their considerable diplomatic, economic and political power to persuade Iraq, Iran and Syria to abandon their support for terrorism," they added (Daalder/Lindsay, Financial Times, Oct. 10).

"Understandably, the United States government and people, who have suffered most from the attack mentally and physically, were getting impatient to retaliate," Gandhi Sukardi writes in today's Jakarta Post of the strikes on Afghanistan.  "Unfortunately, however, the U.S. did not consider the participation of the United Nations, as an international organization representing most of humanity, trustworthy enough to deal with the crisis, even after the Security Council voted overwhelmingly in favor of fighting international and national terrorism."  Washington has "put world peace in a precarious balance" and created the impression of a Christian-Muslim war, drawbacks that could have been tempered by greater U.N. involvement, Sukardi writes (Gandhi Sukardi, Jakarta Post, Oct. 11).

Journalist Helena Cobban writes in today's Christian Science Monitor that the United States should be involved in "nation-building" in a post-Taliban Afghanistan, but "need not -- and should not -- pursue its diplomatic planning for Afghanistan alone."

"The U.N. Security Council has been closely involved in Afghan political affairs for many years," Cobban continues.  "Afghanistan's neighbors, including very vulnerable Pakistan, all need to be involved somehow in the planning, both to ensure their future noninterference and to be reassured that their own legitimate interests will not be threatened by the Afghanistan that emerges" (Helena Cobban, Christian Science Monitor, Oct. 11).

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U.S. Response: New Developments in Biochemical Weapons Detection

Research institutions and private corporations have been developing a wide range of new equipment to detect potential biological or chemical attacks, according to recent reports.

MesoSystems has seen more demand for its BioCapture air sampler since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.  “In September alone we had requests for 25 quotes.  Normally, we would have five or six,” said marketing director Sherry Liikala.  The BioCapture screens for biological warfare agents in about 30 minutes by pulling 150 liters of air a minute through a liquid, collecting particles from a large portion of a potentially contaminated area.  Test strips are inserted into the device that can test for specific agents, such as anthrax and botulinum.  When the BioCapture finishes sampling the air, the user pushes a button and deposits the correct amount of liquid onto the strip (Associated Press, Oct. 9).

Gunter Gross, of the University of North Texas, is working on a detector to respond to harmful agents the same way human cells would.  The device uses mouse embryo cells, placed between panes of glass and hooked up to electrodes, to identify a particular agent by reacting in the same way as human cells.  Gross compared the device to birds miners once used to detect poisonous gases.  The device is better than a bird, Gross said, because “A parakeet, as it falls down, can’t tell you which parts of the nervous system are affected.  This network can.”  The U.S. Defense Department is spending $2 million on the device; a suitcase-sized unit is expected to be ready in six months with a handheld version coming later.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has been funding several new developments, including awarding $6 million for two contracts to develop small flying machines that could be used to detect harmful agents and perform battlefield surveillance (Ian Hopper, Associated Press, Oct. 9). 

The agency is also working with the University of Minnesota to develop pokeweed antiviral protein for use as a biological warfare countermeasure.  PAP is a chemical derived from the pokeweed, a common plant in the South, that is a powerful defense against plant and animal viruses.  Ibis Therapeutics is working on “universal” drugs that would attack a vulnerable point in all bacteria and viruses, making it impossible to create a drug resistant form.  Noravax has developed materials that could be applied like sunscreen that would dissolve bacteria and viruses or attract and bind germs before they can infect (Jeff Nesmith, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Oct. 11).

Researchers at Georgia Tech. University have been working on several new devices to aid the military and emergency personnel in the event of a bioterrorism attack.  One near completion is a handheld sensor that could identify biological or chemical warfare agents.  Another is a radar flashlight that allows rescuers to identify the presence of victims without exposing themselves.  Two flashlights were sent to New York to aid in rescue efforts after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.  A system is being developed that would allow rescue personnel to relay a victim’s vital signs to a hospital so doctors can immediately determine treatment.  The system would also connect local doctors to world experts through the internet.  “They’re doing some very significant and great work for the first responder community, the people who take care of our homeland defense when these thing happen, as we saw on Sept. 11,” said John Allison, director of the office of science, technology and integration for the Marine Corps. Warfighting Laboratory (Jane O. Hansen, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Oct. 11).

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U.S. Response: Antiterrorism Legislation Delayed

The spirit of bipartisan cooperation in the U.S. Congress that arose after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks appeared to evaporate yesterday, delaying several pieces of antiterrorism legislation (see GSN, Oct. 5), according to the Baltimore Sun.

“Here we’re telling the American people that we are working together, that we’re dedicated to the proposition that we’ll take whatever measures are necessary in a bipartisan fashion to assure their security and safety both home and overseas,” said Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), and yet “we are nearing the end of our second week mired in such a situation that we’ve made no progress whatsoever.”

The Senate was ready to approve legislation to give police additional powers to hunt down terrorists, but the bill was blocked by Senator Russell Feingold (D-Wis.) who wanted additional civil liberties safeguards added. A House of Representatives version of the bill was ready last week, but Republican leaders delayed a vote because President George W. Bush disapproves of a provision that would have the new police powers expire in 2004.  The Bush administration favors the Senate bill.

“This legislative package is too important to defer to the Senate’s actions,” said Representative Bob Barr (R-Ga.) yesterday.

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Canadian Response: Canada Increases Security Spending By $160 Million

Canada will spend $160 million to improve security within this fiscal year, Canadian Foreign Minister John Manley announced yesterday.  Canada will also hire 300 more federal workers to tighten security, requiring an additional $19.2 million per year (Agence France-Presse, Oct. 11).

Manley provided few details on how the money would be spent.  “It’s all security-related and all in the current fiscal year,” he said.  Transport Minister David Collenette and two other Cabinet ministers are to hold a news conference today to provide some additional details, such as improvements in airport security (Associated Press/New York Times, Oct. 10).

Around $11.5 million of the new security package will pay for new high-tech identification cards for permanent immigrants, who currently carry a paper document that is easy to forge, Citizenship and Immigration Minister Elinor Caplan is expected to announce tomorrow (Allan Thompson, Toronto Star, Oct. 11). 

Canada is also interested in buying software to use passport photographs to catch people using false names, such as Ahmed Ressam, who was convicted of attempted terrorism after his arrest at the U.S.-Canada border in 1999.

A new antiterrorism and security bill will be introduced in the Canadian House of Commons Monday.  The bill will address border control, immigration and law enforcement (Agence France-Presse, Oct. 11).  It would also criminalize membership in or financial contributions to terrorist organizations and grant broader surveillance powers to police (Associated Press/MSNBC, Oct. 10). 

Biological Attack Defense

Meanwhile, Canada has been stockpiling medical products to prepare for biological attacks in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.  Health Minister Allan Rock said the government will continue to stockpile such products but said there is “relative comfort” the government could obtain enough antibiotics for Canadians if an anthrax outbreak occurred.  He said there is no evidence of “imminent risk” of biological or chemical attacks, “but we have to be alert to all possible risks … we have to be ready.”  Rock also said cooperation with other countries to prepare for terrorist attacks is important (Linda Diebel, Toronto Star, Oct. 11).

Canada has conducted military research on products, such as skin oils, to protect soldiers and citizens from chemical or biological weapons since World War II.  Those efforts have taken on new importance since Sept. 11.  “We are working with detection technologies and developing new vaccines or new methods of delivering vaccines for anthrax and other pathogens,” said Clem Laforce, deputy director general at the Defense Research Establishment Suffield (Carol Harrington, Miami Herald, Oct. 10).

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U.S. Response: Constitutional Amendment Offered to Fill in Congress

U.S. Representative Brian Baird (D-Wash.) announced he would introduce a U.S. constitutional amendment this week to establish a process to replace members of Congress lost in a large terrorist incident.  In a speech yesterday, Baird said he was concerned that a constitutional crisis could have ensued if the Sept. 11 terrorists had flown an airliner into the Capitol building and killed a large number of congressmen.

If Congress lost more than one-fourth of its members, Baird’s amendment would empower state governors to appoint replacements from their states within seven days of the loss.  Replacements would hold office until special elections could be held no later than 90 days after the incident.  Currently, representatives can only be replaced through direct election (Congressional Record, Oct. 10).

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British Fuel Cycle:  Environmental Groups Fight to Stop Mox Plant

Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth filed lawsuits Tuesday with the British High Court to reverse the British decision to open the controversial Sellafield nuclear fuel plant (see GSN, Oct. 4), which produces mixed-oxide (Mox) fuel.  “The government’s decision to allow the Mox plant to open is dangerous, uneconomic and perverse,” said Friends of the Earth Director Charles Secrett.

Britain ignored opposition to the plant by potential Japanese customers and the fact that almost $685 million in investment costs had been written off when it gave approval for the Sellafield plant to open, according to the two environmental groups (Andrew Taylor, Financial Times, Oct. 8).  European law requires nuclear power plants that increase the risk of radiation to the public to be economically viable, according to the London Guardian.  Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth allege the economic benefits of the plant have been distorted, since investment costs were ignored while the plant’s potential income of $218 million had already been counted as profit (Paul Brown, London Guardian/Nuclear Control Institute, Oct. 8).

The Sellafield plant came under increased controversy when the London Independent reported last week government ministers gave a brief examination to the potential terrorist threat against the plant.  Ministers relied on advice from the Office for Civilian Nuclear Security, which had dismissed the threat, according to the Independent.  The Office for Civilian Nuclear Security is financed and staffed by the Department of Trade, which is the sole stockholder of British Nuclear Fuels Limited, according to the Independent, and BNFL operates the Sellafield plant (Geoffrey Lean, London Independent, Oct. 7).

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British Fuel Cycle: Increased Security for Plutonium Ships

Ships carrying plutonium to and from the British nuclear fuel plant at Sellafield will upgrade their weapons to include cannons and heavy-caliber machine guns, The Mirror reported yesterday. In addition, specially trained police will accompany the ships to defend against potential terrorist hijackers (see GSN, Oct. 1).

The United States has also demanded that the Royal Navy escort the ships, according to The Mirror, which reported that the ships take the long route to Japan to avoid the Suez Canal.

Plutonium shipments are expected to increase after the U.K. government allowed the MOX plant to begin operations (see GSN, Oct. 4), and British Nuclear Fuels Limited officials said the risk to the ships was “practically negligible” (Pat Flanagan, The Mirror, Oct. 10). 

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Iran: Extra Security at Bushehr

Russian workers have been taking extra security precautions at the Bushehr construction site in Iran where they are building two nuclear power plants (see GSN, Oct. 4), Russian Atomic Energy Minister Aleksandr Rumyantsev told ITAR-Tass on Tuesday.  The measures were needed following the U.S. attacks in Afghanistan, Rumyantsev said, but Russia planned to leave its 1,000 workers on the project unless “the hostilities broaden and endanger human lives” (RFE/RL Newsline, Oct. 10).

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Russia: Pay Moscow For Its Nuclear Material, Columnist Says

The enhanced threat of terrorism emphasizes the need to secure Russian nuclear weapon materials using recently proposed legislation in the U.S. Congress, said Brett Wagner in a column yesterday.  Wagner, president of the California Center for Strategic Studies, said suspected terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden may already have components to a nuclear weapon and is only lacking uranium or plutonium.

Wagner endorsed recent legislation proposed by U.S. Senator Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) to create a system to compensate Russia for securing and safeguarding its nuclear weapon material.

Under the bill, introduced in August, the United States would guarantee loans to Russia, accepting Russia’s nuclear material as collateral.  For each $20 million loan, Russia would place one metric ton each of uranium and plutonium under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards at a secure facility in Russia.  The deal would commit Russia to not using the materials for weapons; it could only be converted to nuclear fuel or disposed of permanently (Brett Wagner, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Oct. 10).

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United States: Nuclear Weapons Workers Oppose Proposed Comp Rules

Nuclear weapons workers complained yesterday that rules proposed by President George W. Bush to facilitate payment of workers’ compensation actually makes compensation more difficult.  The rules were designed to help workers or their survivors who were exposed to toxic substances at Energy Department facilities run by contractors. 

Congress passed legislation last year to provide medical care and $150,000 to Cold War-era nuclear weapons workers who became ill after exposure to radiation or silica and beryllium, but the workers were not compensated.  Congress told the department to help workers file claims, reversing the previous department policy to fight compensation claims.

The department is supposed to use independent medical panels to determine if a worker’s illness resulted from the job.  The administration’s proposed rules require claims to meet criteria established by state workers’ compensation laws before going to the medical panels.  Critics told a department hearing yesterday that the proposal would add another layer of bureaucracy, rather than making it easier for workers to file claims.  Witnesses also complained that the proposed rules would not require the department to pay for workers’ medical tests and would grant the department broad authority to review medical panels’ decisions (Nancy Zuckerbrod, Associated Press, Oct. 11). 

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Anthrax: Third Case Discovered in Florida

A third person in Florida yesterday was identified as having been exposed to anthrax, according to federal officials, who have formally begun a criminal investigation.

The latest case is a 35-year-old woman who worked in the same building as the other two men who were exposed (see GSN, Oct. 10).  The woman did not exhibit the flu-like symptoms associated with anthrax, however, traces of spores were found in her nasal cavity.  “She is on antibiotics and we will be working very closely with her,” said Florida Health Secretary John Agwunobi (Canedy/Yardley, New York Times, Oct. 11).

Ernesto Blanco, the second confirmed anthrax exposure case, was showing signs of improvement, his daughter-in-law said.  “He is much better.  The antibiotics have kicked in and worked magnificently,” Mary Orth said.  “He hopes to be out of the hospital in approximately a week” (Agence France Presse, Oct. 10).

The discovery of a third anthrax exposure case has changed the investigation into a criminal one, said U.S. Attorney Guy Lewis (Miami Herald, Oct. 11). 

The strain of anthrax found in Florida has responded to antibiotics, leading officials to believe it originated in a research lab and is not a biological weapon.  Investigators may have traced the Florida strain to one developed in an Iowa laboratory in the 1950s dubbed the “Ames strain,” which was shipped to researchers around the world as a benchmark for identifying other anthrax strains.  The “Ames strain” is so widespread, confirming it was the same as the Florida strain would tell little about where it may have come from, said Ronald Atlas, president-elect of the American Society for Microbiology (Slevin/Blum, Washington Post, Oct. 11). 

Some scientists familiar with the investigation said the DNA of the Florida strain was not an exact match to any strain, including the Ames strain, kept in most complete anthrax collections.  “The Florida isolate is similar to an isolate from Haiti, to one from Texas and one from Iowa,” said Martin Hugh-Jones of Louisiana State University, who is advising investigators on how to identify the Florida strain (Canedy/Yardley, New York Times).   

One tool investigators could use to learn more about the Florida strain is a database at the Los Alamos National Laboratory that contains genetic information on 1,200 strains of the anthrax bacterium.  Each strain has its own “signature,” a tiny piece of the gene that is unique, said Los Alamos spokeswoman Nancy Ambrosiano.  “If it’s something in our database, we can identify it,” Ambrosiano said.  “It would be a conclusive analysis” (Manning/Sternberg, USA Today, Oct. 11).

The federal government recently shipped large amounts of anthrax medication, such as the antibiotic Cipro, from emergency stockpiles to pharmacists in South Florida because local supplies were dangerously low.  South Florida has experienced signs of hysteria in the wake of the anthrax occurrences, the London Telegraph reported, such as the case of one man, who lived across the street from the second victim, calling local officials about a trail of white powder leading up to his front door.  It wasn’t until after firemen and other emergency personnel had arrived, collected samples and hosed each other down that the family remembered a neighbor had spilled flour outside, according to the Telegraph (Ian Ball, London Telegraph, Oct. 11).

The State Department has ordered U.S embassies around the world to stockpile anthrax medication, said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher.  “We don’t have any information to indicate that there’s an imminent threat from the use of anthrax or other biological agents at an overseas mission,” Boucher said.  “But as a precaution we’ve encouraged our missions to stock a three-day supply of the antibiotic ciprofloxacin.”  The supply is for U.S. employees and their families, as well as local workers, contractors and others who frequent the embassies, according to the State Department instructions (New York Times, Oct. 11).

Bayer, the maker of Cipro, said yesterday that it planned to increase production of the drug to meet the new demand.  Production of Cipro would increase by 25 percent starting Nov. 1.  A German plant will be reopened to produce the drug, which had sales of about $1.6 billion last year (Dyer/Wassener, Financial Times, Oct. 11). 

Avant Immunotherapies announced yesterday a licensing agreement with DynPort Vaccine Company that will give DynPort access to Avant’s advanced vaccine patents.  The vaccine technology could be used to combat anthrax, according to Mark Davis, a Stanford University medical professor and a member of Avant’s scientific advisory board.  “They’re going great guns with travelers’ vaccines such as cholera and typhoid,” Davis said.  “Anthrax would just be another bug” (Associated Press, Oct. 10).

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International Response: U.S. and U.K. Agree to Cooperate

The United States and United Kingdom signed two agreements yesterday to cooperate on health care efforts.  One agreement could enhance the countries’ ability to respond to biological terrorist attacks, focusing on working together to develop emergency plans, including enhancing detection abilities and treating mass casualties. 

The other agreement provides for sharing data and cooperative efforts to improve health care quality, such as improving disease monitoring and reporting and reducing patient care disparities. 

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson and British Health Minister Alan Milburn signed the agreements in Washington at a session of the Commonwealth Fund’s Fourth International Health Policy Symposium. 

“Disease does not respect national boundaries, and today’s agreements can serve as a model for collaboration among nations on behalf of world health,” Thompson said (U.S. Newswire, Oct. 10).   

France and Mexico might also join the initiative, the Financial Times reported.

Milburn said the United States had exceptional diagnostic ability, and the British centralized national health system was perhaps better organized for rapid response than the U.S. health care system (Christopher Parkes, Financial Times, Oct. 11).

Milburn added that the agreements would create “the strongest, most effective, most innovative means to protect the health of our people against any further threat that may be posed by terrorists” (Andrews Sparrow, Daily Telegraph, Oct. 11).

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U.S. Response: Biotech Stock Rises

Stock prices for companies that produce products to detect biological attacks and treat diseases have risen dramatically since the Sept. 11 attacks in New York and Washington and the discovery of an anthrax case in Florida. 

Prices for Cepheid, maker of equipment to detect and analyze biological contaminants, rose 86 percent on the Nasdaq and was the eighth most active stock Tuesday after trading more than 31 million shares, 30 times Cepheid’s six-month average (Dave Ebner, Globe and Mail, Oct. 10).  Cepheid’s rise eased yesterday but remained up by 397 percent since Sept. 11.  UBS Warburg analyst Howard Horn, however, said the company is unlikely to be profitable before 2004 (Pascal Reynard, Agence France-Presse, Oct. 10).

Luminex Corp., which has a system to run numerous tests on a single lab specimen, saw its stock rise 17.9 percent Tuesday (Dave Ebner, Globe and Mail, Oct. 10).

American Access Technologies’ stock rose 450 percent since Sept. 11 (Adam Shell, USA Today, Oct. 10).  Its stock dipped yesterday but remained up by 327 percent.  The company produces equipment to detect chemical weapons (Reynard, Agence France-Presse, Oct. 10).

Companies with protective and treatment products have seen a dramatic increase in their products after Sept. 11.  Most people who call companies to obtain such products, however, learn that the products are unavailable.  The United States has not approved some products for distribution, and others exist only in small quantities due to low demand before Sept. 11. 

Before the terrorist attacks, many companies and the government gave minimal attention to biodefense products.  “The simple, sad fact is that vaccine development hasn’t been a national or medical priority,” said Carl Feldbaum, president of the Biotech Industry Organization. 

The United States may have to spend more money to motivate biotech companies to produce new vaccines to prepare for biological attacks.  “The problem is, you’re asking companies to makes something that stands a pretty good chance of not being used.  Why make something you can’t sell?” said Gordon Douglas of Cornell University.

Producing increased quantities of vaccines and other biotech products will take time.  The U.S. military has been unable to replenish its stock of anthrax vaccine since 1998 due to safety and production concerns at BioPort, the vaccine’s only U.S. producer.  Production is not the only issue facing companies and authorities.  Other issues involve the efficacy of existing vaccines against strains bioterrorists could use and medical side effects. 

Despite remaining questions and the cost of producing biotech products, many biotech companies see new opportunity.  NanoBio of Ann Arbor, Michigan, is seeking fast-track government approval for a cream that kills anthrax spores within four hours and is developing a nasal spray to protect against microbes.  Other products being developed by other companies include an antibody that could provide almost instant immunity against pathogens such as anthrax, a system to help hospitals identify infectious diseases, and an antiviral cure for smallpox.  However, these products will not be available for one to 10 years (Julie Appleby, USA Today, Oct. 10). 

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Threat Assessment: Children at Risk

As the United States formulates its defensive action plan following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the special needs of children "are finally beginning to get some attention," columnist Bob Herbert writes in the New York Times today.

In March last year, the American Academy of Pediatrics released a report indicating that children would suffer disproportionate and potentially devastating effects in a chemical or biological terrorist attack.  Today, Herbert writes, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.)will introduce legislation that would set up a task force to begin to deal with the issue.

"We have a lot of work to do for all of us to be better prepared," Clinton said yesterday.  "But we've got some special concerns when it comes to our kids.  The vulnerability and needs of children have to be addressed separately."

Herbert writes that Dr. Irwin Redlener, president of the Children's Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, has been a leader in the effort to focus more attention on the potential effect of terrorist attacks on children.  Redlener sent a letter last week to various legislative leaders on Capitol Hill, including Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott.

"Children have more rapid respiratory rates and larger surface-to-mass ratios than adults, which means children are more easily affected by agents entering through the respiratory system or the skin," he said.  "And many of the chemical and biologic agents that might be used in the attack cause severe vomiting and diarrhea.  Children are much more susceptible than adults to becoming dehydrated and going into shock and cardiovascular collapse."

Herbert writes that Clinton's legislation would create a mandate for a National Task Force on Children and Terrorism to determine what can be done to ensure the safety of children if the United States falls victim to a bioterrorist attack. 

"We have got to give parents more information about what they should and shouldn't be doing," she said, warning there are dangers associated with taking the wrong precautions.  "One of the saddest results of all this is that many people are going out and buying gas masks.  Many parents are motivated by the desire to protect their children and they don't realize than an adult-sized gas mask, for example, can suffocate a child" (Bob Herbert, New York Times, Oct. 11).

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