Washington Post: Answers in 2001 anthrax attacks are still elusive

[JohnyCanuck]

Thursday, February 17, 2011; 7:58 PM

RESOLUTION OF THE 2001 anthrax attacks continues to prove elusive.

The Justice Department and the FBI identified Maryland scientist Bruce E. Ivins as having single-handedly carried out the attacks that killed five people and seriously sickened 17 others. The department was on the verge of seeking an indictment in 2008 when Mr. Ivins took his own life.

Doubts lingered about Mr. Ivins's guilt, in part because the FBI had had its sights on a different Maryland scientist for several years before admitting he was not the culprit. Now, a report by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) raises new questions about whether Mr. Ivins was wrongly accused.

The lengthy report cites several instances in which the Justice Department appears to have overstated the strength of the scientific evidence against Mr. Ivins. For example, the department concluded that anthrax spores derived from the RMR-1029 vial in Mr. Ivins's lab were used in the deadly attacks. The report takes exception. "We find the scientific evidence to be consistent with their conclusions but not as definitive as stated," said Lehigh University President Alice Gast, who led the NAS committee. The report insinuates throughout that FBI failure to perform more tests or to be more precise could have erroneously eliminated other suspects or prematurely settled on Mr. Ivins as a suspect.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/17/AR2011021706135.html

Link to comments on the article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/17/AR2011021706135_Comments.html

[bluestateguy]

1. I'm not optimistic that he will be caught or identified

Nobody still knows who the Tylenol cyanide tamperer was and that was in 1982.