So far, the Anthrax "attacks" have been minor disruptions into everyday American life. (Keeping the Senate from working? Hey, maybe they're on OUR side!
)
<EDIT> This just in...
"
Anthrax may be weapons-grade10/17/2001
By Laura Parker, Kevin Johnson and Traci Watson, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON (AP) — The anthrax mailed to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle's office was "very potent," Daschle said Tuesday, and bioterrorism experts think that it was prepared by sophisticated scientists who could have worked on weapons programs. Initial tests show that the letter contained a high concentration of fine-grained anthrax spores — the kind that increase the chances of it being inhaled. Inhalation can cause the most deadly type of anthrax."<END EDIT>
However, to say that anthrax isn't deadly or that it isn't a threat is incorrect, I think.
Right now, it's not a threat, simply for two reasons:
1) "they" haven't used enough of it
2) "they" either don't know how to deliver it correctly or haven't decided to do so as yet.
http://www.fas.org/nuke/intro/bw/agent.htm#b02 "A lethal dose of anthrax is considered to be 10,000 spores; 80 percent of a population that inhaled such a dose would die. Less than one millionth of a gram is invariably fatal within five days to a week after exposure.
According to an estimate by the US Congress's Office of Technology Assessment, 100 kilograms of anthrax, released from a low-flying aircraft over a large city on a clear, calm night, could kill one to three million people."Where would they get 200 kilos?
http://www.fas.org/irp/gulf/intel/961031/0408pgf_90.txt 22 October 1990
IRAQ BIOLOGICAL WARFARE THREAT"Iraq's biological and toxin weapons program is the most extensive in the Middle East. Large quantities of anthrax bacteria and
botulinum toxin have likely been produced. We believe that these agents have been weaponized and that biological and toxin
munitions already exist. We further believe that deployment of BW munitions in significant numbers will take place by the end of this year, if not already implemented.
...Agents believed to be in inventory and weaponized by Iraq include Bacillus anthracis, or Anthrax, and botulinum toxin. In 1988 [ (b)(1) sec 1.3(a)(4) ] reported that the Iraqis had already,
or were developing anthrax as a BW agent.
...Average concentrations of weaponized anthrax developed for the U.S. offensive BW program. which was disestablished in 1969, were sixty trillion anthrax spores
or 8 billion human lethal doses per gallon.The incubation period of anthrax introduced through the aerosol route is approximately one to three days.
Treatment is ineffective
following the appearance of the first symptoms and 95 percent of those that have not been vaccinated or treated with antibiotics prior to presentation of symptoms will die."
[ 10-17-2001: Message edited by: Toad ]
