BALTIMORE, Aug. 8, 2008

Scientist Says Anthrax Suspect Stalked Her

Microbiologist Says Bruce Ivins Was Obsessed With Her Sorority; Stalked Her For Decades

  • Play CBS Video Video FBI: Anthrax Case Closed

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(AP)  A microbiologist claims she was stalked for decades by Bruce Ivins, the suspect in the deadly anthrax mailings of 2001 who, according to court documents, was obsessed with the sorority she joined in college.

Nancy L. Haigwood and her former husband, Carl J. Scandella, also think Ivins may have wanted to get close to her when he moved in down the street from the couple in the suburbs of Washington in the early 1980s.

Ivins, an Army scientist, committed suicide last week as federal authorities prepared to charge him with killing five people by sending anthrax spores in the mail. The letters were dropped in a mailbox near a Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority office in Princeton, New Jersey, and prosecutors have suggested Ivins chose that location because of its proximity to the office.

In another development, the Justice Department sent a letter to the lawyer for Steven Hatfill, another military scientist who was a colleague of Ivins, formally exonerating Hatfill after saying earlier this week that Ivins was the only suspect. In 2002, law enforcement officials called Hatfill a "person of interest" in the investigation, a claim that brought a lawsuit from Hatfill the following year.

The federal government awarded Hatfill $5.8 million to settle his violation of privacy lawsuit against the Justice Department earlier this year. Hatfill claimed the Justice Department violated his privacy rights by speaking with reporters about the case.

In the case of Haigwood, now the director of the Oregon National Primate Research Center, she said she suspected Ivins in the anthrax mailings as early as November 2001, when he e-mailed her, his immediate family and other scientists a photo of himself working with what he called "the now infamous 'Ames' strain" of anthrax, which was used in the attacks. She reported her suspicions to the FBI in 2002 and, at the behest of investigators, kept in touch with Ivins by e-mail and shared their correspondence with investigators.

Haigwood, 56, met Ivins in the late 1970s when he was doing a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of North Carolina, where she earned her doctorate. She was cordial to him, but she noticed that he took an unusual interest in her Kappa membership.

In the summer of 1982, Haigwood moved in with Scandella, then her fiancee, in a townhouse in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Montgomery Village. On Nov. 30 that year, Scandella awoke to find the Greek letters "KKG" spray-painted on the rear window of his car and on the sidewalk and fence in front of the home. Although a police report filed by Scandella does not mention any possible suspects, Haigwood quickly concluded that Ivins was responsible.

"My address wasn't published, and I only lived there a short while before Carl and I got married and moved out of state," Haigwood said Friday. "No one knew my address or my phone number. You had to stalk me to figure this stuff out."

Records show that Ivins was living on the same street, about a block away, shortly after the incident. It was not clear when he moved in. Scandella did not know that Ivins had been their neighbor until he was told Friday by a reporter.

"I was blown away by that," Scandella said. "I had no idea he lived anywhere in the vicinity ... I wonder if it's possible that Ivins moved to that location to be close to Nancy."

Soon after the vandalism, Haigwood bumped into Ivins - she doesn't remember where - and accused him.

"I said, 'This happened and I'm sure you're the one who did it,' and he denied it," Haigwood said. "And I said, 'Well, I'm still sure you did.' What can you do at that point?"

Ivins kept in touch with Haigwood via phone calls, letters and e-mails, and while some of the correspondence made her uncomfortable, she never cut off contact with him, a decision she later regretted. She said she sent him polite but curt replies.

"He seemed to know a lot about myself, my children, things I never remembered telling him, which always disturbed me," she said. "I kept him at arm's length as best I could."

She also suspected Ivins of writing a letter in her name to The Frederick News-Post that defended hazing by Kappa members.

Haigwood passed on her suspicions about Ivins to the FBI after the American Society for Microbiology noted that a microbiologist was probably responsible for the anthrax mailings and asked its members to think of possible suspects.

Their e-mail correspondence from 2002 on was brief and cordial, although Ivins did reveal that he was under a lot of stress.

Investigators have said that between 2000 and 2006, Ivins was prescribed antidepressants, antipsychotics and anti-anxiety drugs. The Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland, where Ivins worked, has offered no explanation for why he was allowed to work with some of the world's most dangerous toxins while suffering from serious mental health problems.

It wasn't until November 2007, after the FBI raided his Frederick home, that Fort Detrick revoked his laboratory access, effectively putting him on desk duty. In the meantime, Haigwood said she worried about what Ivins was up to in the lab.

"After a while, after I decided that he was probably the perpetrator, I was afraid of him," Haigwood said. "I thought that if he found out I had turned him in, he would go after me. And he knew how to do that. This is something his colleagues don't seem to recognize in him."

Haigwood said she was not aware of Ivins stalking any other Kappa sisters.

In an interview Friday, Kappa Kappa Gamma executive director Lauren Sullivan Paitson said the FBI asked in August 2007 for help documenting decades' worth of Ivins' contacts with the sorority, including breaking into the now-closed chapter house at the University of Maryland. The sorority disbanded at Maryland in 1992.

But before being contacted by the FBI, Paitson had been engaged in an editing war on Wikipedia.com with a writer by the name of "jimmyflathead" who threatened to post secret rituals and bad publicity about the sorority on the Web site. Court affidavits listed "jimmyflatheadyahoo.com" among Ivins personal e-mail addresses.

Only after the government asked for the sorority's help did Paitson realize that the online Kappa nemesis was the top suspect in the anthrax investigation.

"We already had firsthand experience with him, going back and forth," she said.

The sorority did not threaten Ivins with legal action as a result of the Wikipedia editing dispute, and Paitson said she was assured by the FBI that none of the Kappa chapters or members nationwide would be targeted with anthrax letters.

She declined to give more details, citing the privacy of the members of the sorority.

In another development, the Justice Department sent a letter to the lawyer for Steven Hatfill, another military scientist who was a colleague of Ivins, formally exonerating him.


© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Add a Comment See all 41 Comments
by randynason August 8, 2008 11:39 PM PDT
Ivins may well have been involved, but I think the government has something more to hide. This is right at the time that the White House was wanting to pass the Patriot Act and a few Democrats were holding up the bill. And, who did these anthrax letters go to, anyway? Remember?
Reply to this comment
by rhs648 August 8, 2008 11:56 PM PDT
There is another theory of why Ivins might be the person who sent the anthrax through the mail. He may have feared losing his job. As someone who lived near Fort Detrick, knows some of the scientists who have worked at Fort Detrick, and knowing of its history, Ivins may have felt that his job or the projects on which he worked would be terminated. At one time, Fort Detrick was known for its research on biological warfare. Dreaded diseases to be used for biological warfare was the major theme at Fort Detrick until President Reagan abolished it. Fort Detrick then became a center for cancer research. Over the years, there have been many scientists who have come and gone as the emphasis of research changed. As only a handful of anthrax researchers, Ivins may have feared that his position would be terminated. Considering his questionable mental stability, it would be easy to see how he may have feared losing his job even if it wasn''t really being threatened.
Reply to this comment
by rhs648 August 9, 2008 12:04 AM PDT
correction:

There is another theory of why Ivins might be the person who sent the anthrax through the mail. He may have feared losing his job. As someone who lived near Fort Detrick, knows some of the scientists who have worked at Fort Detrick, and knows some of its history, it would not surprise me if Ivins may have felt that his job or the projects on which he worked would be terminated. At one time, Fort Detrick was known for its research on biological warfare. Dreaded diseases to be used for biological warfare was the major theme at Fort Detrick until President Reagan abolished it. Fort Detrick then became a center for cancer research. Over the years, there have been many scientists who have come and gone as the emphasis of research changed. As only a handful of anthrax researchers, Ivins may have feared that his position would be terminated. Considering his questionable mental stability, it would be easy to see how he may have feared losing his job even if it wasn''t really being threatened.
Reply to this comment
by rhs648 August 9, 2008 3:03 AM PDT
This is interesting. Do you suppose his fear of losing his job may have also been the reason to plan his attacks to coincide the date planned for the 9-11 terrorist attacks by beginning to prepare the Anthrax sometime in mid-August 2001, so that he could then unleash this on America to coincide with the 9-11 attacks?

Posted by prometheus41

This may have been coincidental. Ivins may have felt that an anthrax attact would help protect his job. If his thinking wasn''t rational, he may have felt that such an attack might make him more important to the government, protect his job, and enhance his research. It would take a sick person to murder other people for the sake of a job. So much would depend on the state of his mind.
Reply to this comment
by rhs648 August 9, 2008 3:30 AM PDT
The first anthrax victim, a journalist named Robert Stevens, was "eliminated" by the CIA at the beginning of October 2001 because his investigative research led him to the truth behind the September 11, 2001 attack. The other anthrax victims were killed simply to give the public the impression of a conspiracy.

Posted by anon00

There are much easier ways to have someone killed. Not only that, this could be done without harming other people and without the need for such an intensive investigation. You appear intent on blaming the government without any facts to support such claims. My theory is presented as a possibility and does not pretend to be factual.
Reply to this comment
by August 9, 2008 3:46 AM PDT
Okay. I''m becoming convinced. You''ve got to hand it the the FBI. In their clumsy way, they stood up to those trying to pin the attack on Islamic terrorists. For years, they stood their ground.

Now it is time to recognize that the massive biodefense program is causing more harm than good. It is diverting money and talent from important science, and is making us less, not more, safe.

Let''s ramp this program down, and invest in real science and in our future.
Reply to this comment
by stevenga777 August 9, 2008 8:44 AM PDT
American fans angered by Olympic ceremony TV blackout by NBC
Aug 8, 4:32 pm EDT

Buzz Up Print
NEW YORK (AFP) - The rest of the world might have been dazzled by the Beijing Olympic opening ceremony but angry US viewers clamoring for a glimpse of the spectacle on Friday were made to wait after a media blackout.

US network NBC, which owns exclusive rights to Olympics coverage in the United States, refrained from showing the opening ceremony live, preferring instead to delay coverage by 12 hours for a prime-time evening slot.

A spokesman for NBC, which paid nearly 900 million dollars for Olympic broadcast rights, said the decision was taken to maximize viewing figures.

"It''s a business decision," the spokesman told AFP. "It protects our affiliates, our advertisers, and shows it to the largest number of viewers possible," he added.

Bizarrely, the co-hosts of NBC''s breakfast television show barely mentioned the ongoing ceremony during their broadcast, which was reportedly pre-taped.
Reply to this comment
by stevenga777 August 9, 2008 8:47 AM PDT
American fans angered by Olympic ceremony TV blackout by NBC
Aug 8, 4:32 pm EDT

Buzz Up Print
NEW YORK (AFP) - The rest of the world might have been dazzled by the Beijing Olympic opening ceremony but angry US viewers clamoring for a glimpse of the spectacle on Friday were made to wait after a media blackout.

US network NBC, which owns exclusive rights to Olympics coverage in the United States, refrained from showing the opening ceremony live, preferring instead to delay coverage by 12 hours for a prime-time evening slot.

A spokesman for NBC, which paid nearly 900 million dollars for Olympic broadcast rights, said the decision was taken to maximize viewing figures.

"It''s a business decision," the spokesman told AFP. "It protects our affiliates, our advertisers, and shows it to the largest number of viewers possible," he added.

Bizarrely, the co-hosts of NBC''s breakfast television show barely mentioned the ongoing ceremony during their broadcast, which was reportedly pre-taped.
Reply to this comment
by ioweign August 9, 2008 11:49 AM PDT
"I think that I have a lifetime of experience that I will bring to the White House. Sen. John McCain has a lifetime of experience that he''''d bring to the White House. And Sen. Obama has a speech he gave in 2002." Hillary Clinton
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com
/washington/2008/03/hillary-clinton.html

Posted by terrorislamv at 04:44 AM : Aug 09, 2008

Life time of experience "doing what" ?

He was born into a military family, went to a military college, had a military career and went into politics. He certainly knows how to use that Federal umbrella and has only one signature on his paychecks - Uncle Sam....

Reply to this comment
by rhs648 August 9, 2008 12:35 PM PDT
I would find it hard to believe that the FBI wasn''''t ''''motivated'''' to move the direction of the investigation away from Ivins and towards someone else like Hatfill, accompanied by draining of ponds to show the public where the investigation was ''''seriously'''' heading. I would also find it hard to believe that Hatfill didn''''t volunteer himself to play along, as long as the planned multi-million dollar payoff of a lawsuit WITHOUT going to court and again requiring public scrutiny, was a ''''slam dunk''''.

Posted by prometheus41

Hi prometheus41,

The problem with this is the chance that Hatfill could be found guilty and sentenced to life in prison or sentenced to death. This sounds like a gamble few of us would take. Suppose Ivins helped point the FBI to Hatfill as a suspect. One of the articles stated that Ivins participated in the FBI investigation as an anthrax authority. Sounds like the fox guarding the hen house.
Reply to this comment
by blackyowe August 9, 2008 1:08 PM PDT
It''s such a comfort to know the military employs such high caliber people. This one is a real winner.
Reply to this comment
by vnveteran72 August 9, 2008 1:21 PM PDT
Just more "Housecleaning" and tying up loose ends by the Neocon Nazis before they depart the Hollowed-Out Shell that once was a Free, Strong, and Prosperous Nation. All e-mails and hard-drives are being erased, papers shredded, and Low-Level Toadies Wacked.
If not for the Empty Treasury, Dead and Mutilated Servicemen and Women, and Stacks of Unpaid Bills from everywhere on the Planet, you''d never know they were ever here.......
Reply to this comment
by rhs648 August 9, 2008 1:33 PM PDT
Just more "Housecleaning" and tying up loose ends by the Neocon Nazis before they depart the Hollowed-Out Shell that once was a Free, Strong, and Prosperous Nation. All e-mails and hard-drives are being erased, papers shredded, and Low-Level Toadies Wacked.
If not for the Empty Treasury, Dead and Mutilated Servicemen and Women, and Stacks of Unpaid Bills from everywhere on the Planet, you''''d never know they were ever here.......

Posted by vnveteran72

Just like every administration before the Bush administration. Some things don''t change.
Reply to this comment
by docadams3 August 9, 2008 2:02 PM PDT
Geeks are frequently creeps. They are not well socialized. The same OCD patterns that make them successful are the same personality characteristics that make them likely to be obsessive about all kinds of things. You don''t get one without the other.
Reply to this comment
by messiahx4eve August 9, 2008 2:04 PM PDT
The bush regime is nothing more than a cheap knock-off Greek tragedy play that has left many wondering and thinking, "if this cow flop of a president can get away with what he has done, why can''t I?" Our choices are BOTH scraps from the bottom of the heap, both have the same inherent qualities of a carnival barker, a mouth like an experienced hooker, no conscience, and about as in touch with reality as McCarthy was. Perhaps all politicians should go live on a reservation & leave the real America to WE, the PEOPLE.
Reply to this comment
by messiahx4eve August 9, 2008 2:09 PM PDT
What is sooooooooo amusing about all this boils down to them thinking we are as stupid as they are. Just think about that one for a minute. All the lessons in life we teach and instill in our children mean NOTHING to these sanctimonious vermin. True REALITY totally escapes them all together. Beware the power of really stupid people in large groups, especially in our federal government.
Reply to this comment
by coronalu August 9, 2008 2:47 PM PDT
All these comments about geeks (?) remind of the a reguler guy talking to a another guy that works out and had some solid muscles on his body, well this regular looking guy looks at the guy that works out and tells hime "how does it feel having all muscle and no brains?", well the guy with muscles looks at the regular looking guy and tells him "how does it feel having neither?"
Reply to this comment
by lambor59 August 9, 2008 2:52 PM PDT
This is another MISSION IMPOSSIBLE by 2 SOB
Bush and Cheney, they did it again, just like they did against CIA operative Valerie Plame, this time to a very nice army scientist. This scientist was ready to tell us the whole true, then they killed him, reported as sucide and used hime as a scape goat, poor army scientist.
Reply to this comment
by lambor59 August 9, 2008 2:55 PM PDT
Another big cover up by this most corrupted goverment. they think that by killing him, it will be the end of it, no one will ever know the truth.
Reply to this comment
by txgrouch2006 August 9, 2008 3:19 PM PDT
Beware the power of really stupid people in large groups, especially in our federal government.
Posted by messiahx4eve at 02:09 PM : Aug 09, 2008

Beware the power of really CROOKED people in large groups even more.
Reply to this comment
by txgrouch2006 August 9, 2008 3:20 PM PDT
I''m glad the majority of posters realize that THERE''S NO WAY IVINS COULD HAVE DONE IT ALONE.

This was NOT a one-man job.

Scientists say there''''s no way anyone could have produced this much powder form anthrax in secret. It would have been a MASSIVE AND CONSPICUOUS effort. And it DID OCCUR somewhere. Where?

It required cooperation of lab management to set up a secret lab for such a massive effort. And lab management, not a lab scientist, would have been motivated by increased funding from a public scare.

One deranged scientist could not have done this alone. Whether Ivins was involved or not, he COULD NOT have acted alone.

Reply to this comment
by txgrouch2006 August 9, 2008 3:25 PM PDT
Another story that only reinforces my realization that HE NEVER DID ANYTHING VIOLENT IN HIS LIFE.

He was clearly goofy. He moved in a block away from a girl, and she never knew he was there. He never actually DID anything to physically harm anybody.

But we''re supposed to believe HE SUDDENLY COMMITTED ONE OF THE WORST DOMESTIC TERRORIST ATTACKS IN HISTORY??????????

It just doesn''t add up. He was a patsy.

WHO REALLY DID COMMIT THE ANTHRAX ATTACK???
Reply to this comment
by nothappyatall August 9, 2008 6:49 PM PDT
Yeah well, now that the guy is dead and cant defend himself, anyone who wants to get their name in the news can claim like this woman that he ''stalked'' them, lets see the PROOF like a police report or retraining order.
Reply to this comment
by txgrouch2006 August 9, 2008 8:45 PM PDT
lets see the PROOF like a police report or retraining order.
Posted by newster1 at 06:49 PM : Aug 09, 2008

She''ll show hers just as soon as the FBI shows ANY PROOF WHATSOEVER in the form of physical evidence firmly connecting Ivins to the anthrax attack.

The only evidence presented is that the anthrax and the envelopes were traced back to the lab where Ivins worked. Nice work, guys! That narrows it down to A FEW HUNDRED INDIVIDUALS who had access to the office supplies. Now, HOW DID YOU SINGLE OUT IVINS???

And HOW DID A LONE SCIENTIST MAKE THAT MUCH ANTHRAX POWDER??? It was a massive and conspicuous job. NOBODY REPORTS SEEING IT HAPPEN. But it did. WHO PROVIDED THE SECRET LAB?????

Ivins COULD NOT have acted alone.
Reply to this comment
by txgrouch2006 August 9, 2008 8:46 PM PDT
I cannot wait for the election.
Posted by BajaJohn1 at 08:43 PM : Aug 09, 2008

Why? You want to VOTE BACK IN the REAL CROOKS BEHIND 9/11????
Reply to this comment
by lambor59 August 9, 2008 9:33 PM PDT
Anthrax is part of the scare tactics invented by 2 SOB Bush and Cheney, now they have killed the only witness who was ready to testify against them, no one will ever know the truth unless the white house turn the requested informations with no deletions whatsoever to the congress for investigation which they always barked and refused.
Reply to this comment
by txgrouch2006 August 9, 2008 9:59 PM PDT
This was NOT a one-man job.

Scientists say there''''''''s no way anyone could have produced this much powder form anthrax in secret. It would have been a MASSIVE AND CONSPICUOUS effort. And it DID OCCUR somewhere. Where?

It required cooperation of lab management to set up a secret lab for such a massive effort. And lab management, not a lab scientist, would have been motivated by increased funding from a public scare.

One deranged scientist could not have done this alone. Whether Ivins was involved or not, he COULD NOT have acted alone.

Start at Ivin''s boss, and WORK YOUR WAY UP. WhereEVER it leads...
Reply to this comment
by susanhelit August 9, 2008 10:34 PM PDT
I see no reason to think he didn''t do it. He had access to the lab. A recorded history during that time of coming in after hours and working unobserved. He had all the materials, motivation, opportunity, everything. The manager no doubt thought he was just working hard - something not uncommon for scientists who will indeed get an idea and spend a great deal of time over and above the minimum 40 hours a week, trying to make it work.
Reply to this comment
by txgrouch2006 August 9, 2008 10:44 PM PDT
I see no reason to think he didn''''t do it.
Posted by SusanHelit at 10:34 PM : Aug 09, 2008

Do your coworkers call you "gullible?" Or just "airhead?"
Reply to this comment
by susanhelit August 9, 2008 10:44 PM PDT
Ivins was smart enough to make it hard to prove the case against him - it took an entirely new DNA process to identify exactly which anthrax was used. And even so - there''s always a chance a technophile, illiterate, anti-science type on a jury will reject the evidence. So, the FBI put pressure on, hoping for some type of break - Ivins rushing to dispose of evidence in his house or otherwise showing signs of guilt that would be more evidence for the jury. And, of course, knowing he was the killer, they have to watch him closely to be sure he doesn''t kill again.

Too bad he killed himself - but it was no coincidence. He knew they were closing in, and he was afraid of jail or worse. He took the cowards way out.
Reply to this comment
by txgrouch2006 August 9, 2008 10:51 PM PDT
He took the cowards way out.
Posted by SusanHelit at 10:44 PM : Aug 09, 2008

Oh, I get it. You work for the FBI.

Then you can tell me - HOW did Ivins hide the MASSIVE effort it took to make the anthrax powder?
Reply to this comment
by txgrouch2006 August 9, 2008 11:07 PM PDT
Ivins rushing to dispose of evidence in his house or otherwise showing signs of guilt that would be more evidence for the jury. And, of course, knowing he was the killer, they have to watch him closely to be sure he doesn''''t kill again.
Posted by SusanHelit at 10:44 PM : Aug 09, 2008

Hey, wait, I''ve heard that before.

Oh, yah. It was BILL CLINTON''S WMD LIE speech.

The LIE that Saddam had WMD, but he rushed to dispose of evidence. That''s why NO EVIDENCE OF WMD WAS EVER FOUND after Bush finally moved into Iraq WITH THE FULL AUTHORIZATION OF CONGRESS.

But that sure was a convenient lie in 1998 for Bill Clinton, knowing that he was up for impeachment only days later.

Reply to this comment
by susanhelit August 9, 2008 11:08 PM PDT
Late nights at the lab are how he made the anthrax. And since growing and working with anthrax are all part of his job, hiding it wasn''t that difficult. A fully equipped lab sure made the job much easier.

Conspiracy theorists always overestimate how difficult things are, to create their conspiracies. Simple truth is that a smart, driven, or obsessed person can do quite a bit.


One more simple truth - if you look at this with unbiased eyes it''s easy enough to see that this guy is the last person the government wanted to charge, the last person they wanted to say was responsible. If they''re going to go to all the work to frame someone, they''d have kept spreading the lie that the anthrax had Iraqi markers. No way would it be an American researcher paid for by our government, making us look like fools. A trace of common sense says that the person the government would frame would be someone who fits their story of how they want us to see the world - a muslim, an iraqi, or if neither was available, it''d be a Democrat, or an atheist - absolutely the last person they wanted to see as responsible was an American, Christian, Republican, Government funded, high security clearance scientist. The only reason they went with him is prosaic but more common than the conspiracy theorists would believe - he did it.
Reply to this comment
by txgrouch2006 August 9, 2008 11:10 PM PDT
they have to watch him closely to be sure he doesn''''t kill again.
Posted by SusanHelit at 10:44 PM : Aug 09, 2008

%u201DThe international community had little doubt then, and I have no doubt today, that left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will use these terrible weapons again. "

Speech from the Oval Office by President William Clinton, explaining his attack on Iraq
reported by The Associated Press
Wednesday, December 16, 1998

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/stories/clintontext121698.htm

Reply to this comment
by txgrouch2006 August 9, 2008 11:18 PM PDT
And since growing and working with anthrax are all part of his job, hiding it wasn''''t that difficult. A fully equipped lab sure made the job much easier.
Posted by SusanHelit at 11:08 PM : Aug 09, 2008

This will EASILY turn into another Lee Harvey Oswald story unless the FBI can CONCLUSIVELY point to the equipment he used and show that he had developed the method AND used it, all in a few weeks of evenings without attracting ANY attention from coworkers.

The other scientists in the lab say there''s no way he could have done it without being noticed. They suggested that his lab didn''t even have all the necessary equipment. They also said the lab hadn''t developed the process to make anthrax powder, so Ivins would have had to invent the process himeself. That''s VERY hard to do alone in only one month of evenings.

The circumstances of his "suicide" are also VERY suspicious. Some say the drugs he used had readily available antidotes. There will have to be a thorough report of the reason why he wasn''t saved to face justice.
Reply to this comment
by susanhelit August 9, 2008 11:49 PM PDT
The suicide is trivial - he used a drug quite commonly used to suicide - and no it isn''t reversible easily or at all if a little time has passed. A few seconds of internet research would show anyone that. Not only will any ER nurse tell you about the suicides they see come in, still alive, but dying and no one can stop it - but when you search on this drug, you see tons of references to suicide. It''s a commonly used drug, and as a scientist, Ivins no doubt researched his easiest way to go.

As to fellow scientists - they don''t want to believe - people never do - whether it''s the serial killer''s neighbors who had no idea - he seemed such a nice guy! And thinking the task was more difficult that it was is another common thing. Remember cloning? The method used was nothing scientists thought would work, it''s too complex to start the cell division, etc. - then when it actually works, they find out that some of what they thought had to be done with delicate manipulations will actually happen automatically in some circumstances.
Reply to this comment
by susanhelit August 9, 2008 11:50 PM PDT
Here''s one of many sites to get the answer to how credible suicide by tylenol is:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080802090226AA37GQM

Although a few seconds of searching the internet will turn up an uncountable list of sites.
Reply to this comment
by txgrouch2006 August 10, 2008 12:10 AM PDT
they find out that some of what they thought had to be done with delicate manipulations will actually happen automatically in some circumstances.
Posted by SusanHelit at 11:49 PM : Aug 09, 2008

So, then a simple demonstration by an FBI agent actually producing identical anthrax powder in a short time using only equipment in Ivins'' lab would convincingly put this objection to rest.

I''ll be looking forward to seeing this.

Ivins doubtless destroyed his notes on his process, so the FBI can also show how Ivins could have invented the process using only information available to him in August 2001. And do it in secret, working only evenings for only two or three weeks.

I''ll REALLY be looking forward to seeing that.
Reply to this comment
by babooph August 10, 2008 1:07 AM PDT
The govt. hires a guy to make mass murder pathogens & is shocked to find he is a dangerous nut-I guess other nations are just as deluded.
Reply to this comment
by lambor59 August 10, 2008 1:09 PM PDT
Just like every other weird stuffs we''ve seen with this Bush''s regime, this anthrax is nothing but the FBI and CIA and Bush worked together to scare the people. We have total distrust of this most corrupted goverment.
Now they had killed the last witness, the truth will never come out.
Reply to this comment
by txgrouch2006 August 10, 2008 4:48 PM PDT
Just like every other weird stuffs we''''ve seen with this Bush''''s regime, this anthrax is nothing but the FBI and CIA and Bush worked together to scare the people. We have total distrust of this most corrupted goverment.
Posted by lambor59 at 01:09 PM : Aug 10, 2008
-------------------

And you STILL trust the Clinton administration like a little lamb.

RIGHT???????????????
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