Lone Gunman...err...Scientist Responsible for 2001 Anthrax Attacks...

[Junkdrawer]

....

"It had to do with the very specific characteristics in the DNA of the letters and what was in Bruce's labs," said the government scientist, who is close to the investigation. "They were cultures he was personally responsible for."

The scientist spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to reporters.

Solid break

The scientific discovery gave the FBI its first solid break in one of the nation's most high-profile unsolved crimes after years of pointing the finger at the wrong suspect. Combined with other evidence, the Justice Department is expected to close the case this week, concluding Ivins was the mastermind and sole criminal behind the attacks that killed five and sickened 17 others in the weeks following 9/11.

Ivins killed himself last week as prosecutors prepared to indict him on murder charges.

Dozens of other researchers in Ivins' lab also had access to the type of Ames strain used in the attacks, the scientist said, meaning the DNA alone is not enough to prove his guilt.

Investigators have said they used other evidence to build the case against Ivins, including looking at who had access to the poison or the labs at the specific time it was mailed. Those details are expected to be spelled out in sealed court documents that are expected to be released this week if the Justice Department ends the investigation, possibly as early as Monday or Tuesday.

....

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25991925

Of course there's no clue how a liquid culture of Anthrax was weaponized using a top-secret process...

And only the most bizarre of motives....

And no mention of how or why he went to New Jersey to mail said weaponized anthrax...

The fact remains: Outside of a conspiracy to provide a Casus Belli for the Iraq War, this is the most plausible explanation, so, of course, it has to be right.

Just like jet fuel fires bringing down the Twin Towers, most likely non-conspiratorial explanation wins.

[Junkdrawer]

1. Here's a good article that discusses why weaponization is so important...

As anthrax continues to turn up in US postal facilities, and postal workers, evidence is emerging that it is an American product. Not only are the bacteria genetically close to the strain the US used in its own anthrax weapons in the 1960s, but New Scientist can reveal that the spores also seem to have been prepared according to the secret US "weaponisation" recipe.

This is troubling, say bioterrorism specialists. While the terrorists behind the anthrax-laced mail US might have got hold of the strain of anthrax in several laboratories around the world, the method the US developed for turning a wet bacterial culture into a dangerous, dry powder is a closely-guarded secret.

Its apparent use in the current spate of attacks could mean the secret is out. An alternative is that someone is using anthrax produced by the old US biological weapons programme that ended in 1969 - in which case the scope for further attacks could be limited. Experiments to determine which is true are underway now in the US.

Particle size
Analysis of the physical form of the anthrax powder used in the attacks has lagged behind the genetic analysis. Bacteria from patients or contaminated surfaces can be multiplied up to provide enough DNA for analysis. But a physical examination requires a sample of the actual powder, and so far, only two are known. One is from the letter opened in Senator Tom Daschle's office in Washington on 15 October, the other from a letter sent to the New York Post.

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http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn1490-anthrax-preparation-indicates-homegrown-origin.html

[TexasObserver]

2. if he did it, why didn't they catch him the first 90 days?

The way this has happened, it appears that they look for someone who might make a good patsy, and that drives their efforts at finding reasons to pin it on a particular person. First they chased a Muslim guy, then they chased a South African, and finally they go after this guy.

They didn't want him charged, they wanted him dead. If they had wanted him charged, he would have been charged long ago, instead simply given "the treatment."