Ricin scare at DC base is false alarm

[alsame]

http://news.yahoo.com/ricin-scare-dc-false-alarm-214848758--politics.html


WASHINGTON (AP) — A defense official says an investigation of a possible suspicious letter at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, D.C., has turned out to be a false alarm.

Lt. Col. Thomas Veale, spokesman for the Defense Intelligence Agency, said Tuesday that while mail screening equipment alerted officials to the possible presence of a toxin, no suspicious letters or packages have been found at the facility.

Veale said that the FBI has taken samples and will do further testing.

Earlier Tuesday Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told reporters there had been an incident at the Bolling base that involved the "same substance" as recent letters sent to President Barack Obama and a U.S. senator. Other officials said initial testing at the DIA mail-sorting facility suggested it was ricin.

[Recursion]

1. That base houses the DIA and the President's helicopter

They tend to take security very seriously there. I remember when I was stationed there there was this door with a sign saying only authorized personnel could enter, and that the list of authorized personnel was on the other side of the door. Not only could I not get in, I couldn't know who could get in...

[alsame]

2. I didn't know about the

helicopter and the personnel issues. Wow, no wonder this was such a big deal.

[Recursion]

3. Marine 1; it's kept at the Anacostia side of it

Basically there's a big beautiful Air Force base (Bolling) and a tiny patch of swamp where the Sailors and Marines are kept (Anacostia). All of this right downwind from DC's sewer treatment plant, across the street from the mental hospital, and in the middle of the most crime-ridden neighborhood in DC. But the view of Buzzard Point is great...

[alsame]

4. Sounds like

an 'interesting' location for Marine 1 and high level personnel. I'm guessing proximity to the White House is the reason?