In 2001 the United States suffered a major terrorist attack on 9/11. A week later a new attack started, the anthrax attacks. The attacks occurred over a span of weeks. Anthrax is a type of bacteria that produces spores, which can kill people very rapidly if infected. It is not always easy to diagnose due to its nonspecific symptoms. In this case it was used as biological weapon. The attacks were not known about for a period of time until multiple cases occurred. Many people and organizations would end up working on the anthrax attack investigation, which was codenamed Amerithrax by the FBI. During the investigation the FBI had to work with the science community to try and solve the case. The problem the FBI had though was these scientists could have also been responsible for the attacks they were trying to solve. These 2001 anthrax attacks would end up being one of the most expensive and hardest to solve cases for the FBI to date (Shachtman 2011). The FBI closed the Amerithrax case 8 years after the attacks occurred.
The 2001 anthrax attacks was one of the worst bio-weapon attacks on the US in history. The attacks where done through the mail. The anthrax was placed in envelopes with a letter and mailed from various locations to different people and organizations. The anthrax filled letters ended up killing 5 people, causing 17 to become sick and exposing anthrax it is believed to as many as 30,000 people. During the mail process spores of anthrax from the letters escaped and got on mailroom equipment exposing postal employees. If a person was exposed to enough anthrax and developed symptoms they typically died in a few days. Postal workers during the attacks where told that anthrax will appear as a white powder t...
... middle of paper ...
...iew, 24(1), 131-146.
Shachtman, N. (2011, March 24). Anthrax Redux: Did the Feds Nab the Wrong Guy?. Wired.com. Retrieved December 16, 2013, from http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/03/ff_anthrax_fbi/
Shane, S. (2010, February 19). FBI Concludes Investigation in Fatal Anthrax Mailings. The New York Times. Retrieved December 12, 2013, from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/20/us/20anthrax.html?pagewanted=all
Shane, S. (2011, March 23). Anthrax Letters Mailed by Bruce Ivins, Psychiatrists Agree. The New York Times. Retrieved December 11, 2013, from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/24/us/24anthrax.html?_r=1&
Wilman, D. (2011, March 22). Report faults Army in 2001 anthrax mailings. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 16, 2013, from http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/http://articles.latimes.com/2011/mar/22/nation/la-na-anthrax-ivins-20110323/2history/famous-cases/anthrax-amerithrax
Taylor, G. Flint. "How the FBI Conspired to Destroy the Black Panther Party." In These Times. N.p., 4 Dec. 2013. Web. 06 Dec. 2013.
This summer we had an opportunity to dive into the world of bioweapons, through Richard Preston’s novel The Demon in the Freezer. His book explored the colorful world of smallpox and its use as a biological weapon. Earlier this week we were graced with this authors present for an ACES event. He discussed some of the found topics in his book such as animal testing, what small pox is, and even its eradication. One of the great things we had the chance of vocalizing were our many opinions on the gloom associated with this intriguing disease.
The Demon in the Freezer by Richard Preston is an intriguing book that discusses the anthrax terrorist attacks after 9/11 and how smallpox might become a future bioterrorist threat to the world. The book provides a brief history of the smallpox disease including details of an outbreak in Germany in 1970. The disease was eradicated in 1979 due to the World Health Organization’s aggressive vaccine program. After the virus was no longer a treat the World Health Organization discontinued recommending the smallpox vaccination. In conjunction, inventory of the vaccine was decreased to save money. The virus was locked up in two labs, one in the United States and one in Russia. However, some feel the smallpox virus exists elsewhere. Dr. Peter Jahrling and a team of scientists at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases in Maryland became concerned terrorists had access to the smallpox virus and planed to alter the strain to become more resistant. These doctors conducted smallpox experiments to discover more effective vaccines in case the virus were released. Preparedness for a major epidemic is discussed as well as the ease with which smallpox can be bioengineered.
Guillemin, J. (2005). Biological weapons: From the invention of state-sponsored programs to contemporary bioterrorism Columbia University Press.
Charles has agreed to medication protocol of Haldol injections and Resperadol. He adamantly refuses psychotherapy. While hospitalized Charles makes reference to being sexually abused he refuses to go into depth or give specifics. Prior to the diagnosis Charles’s mother reports became withdrawn at the age of seven Charles’s father died in a car accident.
20 Jan. 2014. http://www.invw.org/node/955>. United States. Office of the Medical Examiner.
Earley, P. (2014). CIA Traitor Aldrich Ames — The Story — Crime Library. Retrieved April 10, 2014, from http://www.crimelibrary.com/terrorists_spies/spies/ames/1.html
"History of Bioterrorism." Chronological. Office of The Surgeon General, Department of the Army, 1997. Web. 22 July 2012. http://www.bio-terry.com/HistoryBioTerr.html
Schmidt, Michael. “Fatal Bombs in Iraq Seemed Aimed at Militia.” The New York Times. 09 Feb. 2011. Web. 26 Feb. 2011.
Do you remember the conflict that America had in the Persian Gulf a few years back? An incident occurred there where a man drove a truck loaded with explosives into the building where more than 100 Marines were stationed. He blew up the building, along with the Marines. The incident was published by the AP Press soon after. Now do you remember the bombing just four years ago, in Oklahoma City? Suspects Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols drove a Ryder Van loaded with 4,800 pounds of fertilizer and fuel oil to the front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, where it subsequently exploded, killing 169 people and injuring some 500 others. Of course you do. While both were massive acts of violence involving American citizens, the impact of such acts is always felt the most when it happens right here at home.
Anthrax is a very real and dangerous threat to all people who come in contact with it. The bacterial infection is caused by the bacteriaium Bacillus anthracis. Anthrax is divided into three categories all are contracted in different ways. The first type is called Cutaneous Anthrax; this is where anthrax spores make contact with the skin. If there is a cut or a lesion then a person can be infected. Cutaneous Anthrax is the most common way to get anthrax, but is also the least lethal. The second type of anthrax is called Pulmonary Anthrax this is where a person inhales the spores of anthrax directly into the lungs. If this type of anthrax is left untreated it could lead to death. The third type of anthrax is called Gastrointestinal Anthrax, this form results from eating meat from animals that have been infected with the anthrax bacteria. This causes the intestinal tract to become infected and this from is almost always fatal. This particular mode of anthrax has never been seen in the United States.
Goldstein, J. (2013, June 07). Woman from texas is charged in ricin case. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/08/nyregion/texas-woman-arrested-in-connection-with-ricin-laced-letters.html?_r=1&
September 11, 2001 was one of the darkest days the US had ever experienced. It was coordinated by nineteen terrorists, all thirsty for revenge for the change Americans brought with them to the Middle East. From then on, our government has developed policies that strengthened our security, such as the Patriot Act. The Patriot Act was signed just a few weeks after 9/11 by President George W. Bush. It expanded government power to detect terrorism faster and more efficiently (MacDonald). Its goals include increased funding for the Technical Support Center at the FBI, more employment of translators at the FBI, increased duration of FISA surveillance of non-US citizens, and access to certain business records for f...
The Associated Press. 2013. “New York Daily News.” New York Daily News. Retrieved April 27, 2014 (http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/dead-year-author-body-found-article-1.1342898).
Morton, Robert J. "View Printable Version (pdf)." FBI. FBI, 21 May 2010. Web. 08 Apr. 2014