Two days after a letter containing a white, powdery anthrax-contaminated substance was opened in Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle's personal office in the Hart Senate Office Building, nasal swabs from 31 people tested positive for the presence of anthrax spores.
Those who were exposed include 23 members of Daschle's staff, three staffers for Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., whose office on the fifth and sixth floors of Hart Senate Office Building is adjacent to Daschle's, and five Capitol Police officers.
This evening, the Senate Sgt. at Arms sent a letter to all staffers on the fifth and sixth floors of the Hart Senate Office Building asking them to go on a 60-day regimen of Cipro. Previously, a three-day regimen was suggested.
"I'm concerned for my staff. I'm angered that this has happened. But I feel very confident … about the fact that everyone will be OK," said Daschle, D-S.D., noting that no one on Capitol Hill is known to have been infected with the disease.
The House was set to adjourn at the end of the day until Tuesday, but Senate leaders decided to keep their chamber in session through Thursday. All congressional office buildings will be vacated to allow authorities to sweep the Capitol complex for anthrax spores.
Authorities said this afternoon that the bacteria does not appear to have spread beyond the general vicinity of Daschle's office.
"The exposure has been confined to a very specific area," Dr. Kenneth Moritsugu, the deputy surgeon general, told reporters on Capitol Hill. "At this time there has been no evidence of spores in the ventilation system."
Senior law enforcement officials said today that a laboratory analysis of the anthrax-laden powder in the letter received by Daschle's office last Friday and opened Monday has revealed the substance was "professionally" manufactured, suggesting the powder was produced by a well-funded organization. ...ABCNews,10/17/01
The first Bush-Cheney term had just gotten underway when Islamic terrorists assaulted the US in September. Then, a few weeks later in October, anthrax letters began to turn up, most notably in the offices of Democratic senators on the Hill. Several were accused over the years but no one was prosecuted. The Bush administration showed some eagerness in blaming the anthrax on Saddam, on Islamic terrorists, on favorite perps -- in much the same way as they created enemies -- Saddam included -- to justify war. But, at least in the beginning, the administration claimed "no direct link" to Al Qaeda...
We're still dependent on circumstantial evidence. But there's something about being reminded -- 14 years later -- that the Department of Defense has live anthrax and has sent live samples to labs around the world. ...
The Pentagon announced Friday it has identified additional labs that it accidentally sent live anthrax samples to, prompting Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work to order a review of all Pentagon laboratories.
"As of now, 24 laboratories in 11 states and two foreign countries are believed to have received suspect samples," a Pentagon statement said.
On Wednesday, defense officials said a military lab at the Dugway Proving Ground in Utah accidentally sent live anthrax samples to labs in nine states, and to the Osan Air Base in South Korea.
On Friday, Reuters reported that a live sample was also sent in 2008 to Australia.
"We continue to work closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), who is leading the ongoing investigation pursuit to its statutory authorities," the Pentagon statement said.
Work ordered the review after consulting with Defense Secretary Ash Carter, who is meeting with officials in East Asia.
Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Frank Kendall is leading the review, which will look into the "root cause" of the incomplete inactivation of the pathogen.
It will also examine Defense laboratory biohazard safety procedures and protocols, laboratory adherence to established procedures and protocols, and identification of systemic problems and the steps necessary to fix those problems. ...TheHill
The threats from outside terrorists seems increasingly puny compared to damage done internally by the police (as we've been learning over the past years), from the Pentagon and federal law enforcement. I don't think we should gloss over threats to Democratic senators during the most recent Republican administration. It's more than probable -- given what we know about the later outrages of Bush-Cheney -- that anthrax threats were part of their game.
