As John in DC recently pointed out in
a post on AMERICAblog.com titled "After September 11, we did get hit", we all seem to have collective amnesia on the subject of
Anthrax (no, not
Anthrax). It's time we start remembering. As a refresher, here's a summary from
the Wikipedia article on the "2001 anthrax attacks":
The 2001 anthrax attacks in the United States occurred over the course of several weeks beginning on September 18, 2001 (a week after the September 11, 2001 attacks). Letters containing anthrax bacteria were mailed to several news media offices and two U.S. Senators, killing five people and sickening seventeen others. The crime remains unsolved. (emphasis added)
More after the fold...
A little more summary from the article:
As of 2006, the anthrax investigation seems to have gone cold. Authorities have traveled to four different continents, interviewed more than 8,000 individuals and have issued over 5,000 subpoenas. The number of FBI agents assigned to the case is now 21, ten fewer than a year ago. The number of postal inspectors investigating the case is nine.
i.e. the government has lost interest. They are too busy confiscating toothpaste and diaper creme to be bothered with this.
It's not as though mail terrorism is out of vogue. Earlier this summer, the New York Times received a letter containing white powder, according to MSNBC/Reuters:
The New York Times [on July 14, 2006] received a letter containing a suspicious white powder and a copy of a recent editorial in which the paper defended its coverage of the Bush administration's anti-terrorism programs. [...] [Times spokeswoman Catherine Mathis] confirmed that the envelope included a copy of a June 28 editorial entitled "Patriotism and the Press" with an "X" marked through it. "Over the last year, The New York Times has twice published reports about secret anti-terrorism programs being run by the Bush administration,'' the paper wrote in that editorial. "Both times, critics have claimed that the paper was being unpatriotic or even aiding the terrorists. Some have even suggested that it should be indicted under the Espionage Act."
It appears as though right-wing terrorism ain't no big thing, and just doesn't count.
We really need to pound on this drum. It's pretty frightening that this administration can have the gall to claim that its tough on terrorism given the track record on antrax-related terrorism.