Anthrax Attacks and Bioterrorism

Once a largely theoretical threat, bioterrorism has become a reality since October 2001. Letters containing the deadly anthrax bacterium Bacillus anthracis were sent through the mail to prominent politicians and people in the media. Eleven people were diagnosed with inhalation anthrax, five of whom died. Another 14 people were diagnosed with the cutaneous, or skin, form of the disease; none of these persons died. The victims included postal workers and other individuals who came into direct contact with the letters as well as those sickened by cross-contamination. DNA analysis of the anthrax spores used in the letters narrowed the investigation down to the Ames vaccine strain, acquired in the early 1980s by Fort Detrick's Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, the primary U.S. bioterrorism research facility. The Ames strain has been shared with about a dozen other labs in the United States, Canada, and Great Britain for research purposes.  After a lengthy investigation, in August 2008 the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officially declared Bruce Edward Ivins, a biodefense scientist for the government, to be the lone perpetrator behind the "Amerithrax" attacks.

Why are these attacks important?

The anthrax letters were an entirely new phenomenon. Despite hundreds of anthrax hoaxes prior to 2001, this was the first time that actual anthrax spores had been used in the United States. The 2001 anthrax incidents were small-scale and killed only a small number of people; however, they had the effect of terrorizing the entire country and heightening awareness of biological weapons threats. At the time of the incidents, the U.S. postal system was largely brought to a standstill in order to cope with the sudden threat. Additionally, it was uncertain at the time whether Al-Qaeda had obtained biological weapons on a large scale and may have been responsible for the attacks. Since 2001, there have been many hoaxes, where the senders claim to be mailing anthrax, but actually enclose a harmless white powder. In many cases, hazardous material teams respond to the hoaxes at great cost to the public and disruption to businesses. The U.S. government has allocated billions of dollars to detecting and combating anthrax and other biological weapons. The U.S. Postal Service has installed machines across the country that monitor the mail for anthrax or other biological agents. Some experts argue that the huge U.S. spending on bioterrorism is out of proportion to the threat; however, a recent assessment produced by the Commission on the Prevention of WMD Proliferation and Terrorism determined that biological weapons continue to pose a particular threat to U.S. national security.

The Perpetrator

The FBI eventually concluded that Bruce Ivins perpetrated the attacks for largely personal reasons: the scientist had worked on developing an anthrax vaccine and hoped the attacks would garner him more prestige. Additionally, the senators that Ivins targeted (Tom Daschle and Patrick Leahy) held pro-choice stances on abortion despite being Catholics, a combination that investigators argued Ivins found morally reprehensible. The FBI also revealed that Ivins had a lengthy history of mental health problems, including anxiety and depression. Despite these seemingly personal motivations discovered many years later, the incidents at the time had the psychological impact of terrorist attacks, particularly because no perpetrator could be named.

In late July 2008 (during the course of the FBI's investigation) Ivins committed suicide, making it impossible for the case to be brought to trial or for further questions to be answered. Recent news commentary and the opinions of some of those involved in the case suggest that Ivins may not have been solely responsible for the attacks, although evidence to support this view has not yet surfaced. Nonetheless, the FBI considers the case to be closed and released official documents pertaining to the evidence it gathered during the course of its investigation.

Further Reading:

	FBI, Amerithrax
	NTI, Chris Schneidmiller, "Scientists See Bioterrorism Threat, Doubt Their Work Would Contribute to Attack"
	General Accounting Office Report to Congress, "Bioterrorism: Public Health Response to Anthrax Incidents of 2001 "
	Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, General Bioterrorism Page
	NTI, CNS, BW Terrorism Tutorial
	Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Anthrax General Information Page
	Center for Strategic and International Studies, "The Biological Weapons Threat and Nonproliferation Options"
	Multimedia:
	National Public Radio (Audio), "Anthrax Attacks Gave Rise to Biodefense Industry"
	U.S. Department of Labor (Interactive), Anthrax Tool
	Associated Press (Video) , "FEDS: Ivins Alone Caused 2001 Anthrax Attacks "