The Inside Straight

World Net Daily Kicks Off "Anthrax Silliness" Season

Joseph Farah of Worldnet Daily kicks off the official "Anthrax Silliness" Season with an opinion piece that is nicely larded with misinformation.

No disrespect intended, sir, but it might be a good idea to use up-to-date information that has at least some degree of accuracy and reliability !

The ABC reports you relied on were from 2001,and were based more on what people thought (which was all they had available at the time) than what the actual investigations showed.

For example: There was no Bentonite used in the anthrax letters.

Bentonite was used-once upon a time-by Soviet bio-weaponeers ; and was adopted by Iraq-for a while-because they followed Russian doctrine in such matters.By 1995 , it had been replaced by what the late Hussein Kamal called "fiberglass" - (nanoglass) : a Swiss/German material, with a wide range of applications. Kamal's debriefing transcript may be viewed here.

Nanoglass, as the name implies,has exceptionally tiny dimensions: an anthrax spore - itself rather small - was seen to be covered with hundreds of nanoglass spheres , when examined under an electron microscope , when the anthrax from the deadly letters was examined.

The anthrax spores, and their powdery "matrix" try to clump together-thanks to something called Van der Waals forces. (Static cling,if you will.) The nanoglass balls act as electrical insulators, and prevent clumping; but the constant electrical attraction-and interaction with these "nano-insulators" - makes the powder seethe restlessly.(Bio-weaponeers refer to this as "fly".)

The material from at least one of the anthrax letters had so much "fly", it rose into the air like smoke when the envelope was teased open,and the scientist conducting the examination had the Devil's own job getting a sample under the microscope !

The United States and Russia switched to nanoglass in the early 90's.By 1995,Iraq was using the material. I noticed, when Kamal was being debriefed the Russian interrogator seemed rather surprised that Iraq had "joined the club". (It's worth mentioning a lot of Russian Bio-weaponeers found employment in places like Iraq,Syria,Egypt,Yemen,and Libya when the old Soviet Union imploded ,and "lifetime careers" melted away. It's not surprising they brought state-of-the-art methods and materials with them.)

Joseph Farah , in his opinion piece, was trying to tie the 2001 anthrax attacks to Iraq ; but in truth, the material used in those attacks was not really "lab grade" : it was fairly crude -by any country's standards !

The best available materials and technology were used by someone who had only a technician's knowledge (or a detailed instruction sheet) to work with. It was a bit like handing a beginning violinist a Stradivarius-and expecting them to jump from "Twinkle-Twinkle" to a Brahms concerto in an instant.

That someone was most likely right here in the USA - and it is entirely possible that person's (or group's) motives had nothing to do with 9/11 - other than a strong desire to harm and terrorize Americans.

Anthrax Outbreak in Canada : What's Behind It ?

I've been following an "unprecedented outbreak" of anthrax in Saskatchewan -which those of us who are "geographically challenged" (present company included) will probably need to be reminded is a large,fairly rural province of Canada , which borders on Montana and North Dakota.(There have been one or two cases in Montana as well.)

The outbreak has been "agricultural" , and so far , the only known victims have been cattle,goats,deer,and buffalo. One human , a veterinarian ,sustained a "skin contact" lesion - despite precautions on his part - but received prompt treatment and is making satisfactory recovery.

Anthrax outbreaks are nothing new in this area, and are quite likely to occur during periods of near-drought (which the region has been experiencing.) Quite typically, anthrax spores - dormant in the soil - are exposed when cud-chewing animals crop drought-stricken grass very close : thus exposing potentially infected soil.

What makes this outbreak alarming is the scale and speed with which it is happening . Farming areas - many,many miles apart are having nearly simultaneous outbreaks ,affecting hundreds of animals.

I'm going to suggest you go back to the map and locate these regions:

Prince Albert District, Wynard District,Yorkton District,Moose Jaw,Swift Current,and Saskatoon.

Within each of these regions, you will find smaller areas : each of which has one or more "outbreak sites". There are 147 premises affected so far.

The latest report may be obtained at Pro-Med, of which I am a Subscribing Member.

The real question here is : Is this a natural (if unusual) outbreak...or has somebody been "practicing" the fine art of Bio-agent dissemination - and conducting a little Agro-terrorism on the side  ?

I've heard people say " Nobody would dare to do such a thing. We'd nuke them !"

Assume for the moment there is an act of Bio-terrorism in progress - right next door -right now. Assume also you have that "red button" on your desk, and are in a position to retaliate at will against those responsible.

Who is responsible ? Thinking back 5 years to the Anthrax Murders , are you ever likely to find out ? Shouldn't you be thinking about antibiotics instead of bombs ?

Welcome to the "wonderful world" of Bio-warfare !

Fingerprints on the Wind-an Update

Note: This post,was originally written in the early part of 2005.

I had posited at that time there had been an actual release of Iraqi bio-weapons during Operation Iraqi Freedom: a release that inflicted no immediate Coalition Force casualties-thanks,in large part,to a sudden sand storm,that carried the infectious material away.

Within months of the conflict,odd outbreaks of deadly illnesses began appearing "down the road" from Iraq. In India, for example,a strain of anthrax appeared that was so lethal it killed cattle, swine-which are normally immune to the disease,and the vultures that ate their corpses.(Vultures are normally immune to every known pathogen,because that's their very survival depends on eating dead and diseased flesh.)

I was "attacked" by most people who read the original post - and can readily understand the opposition; but, as more and more information seeps to the surface,my original analysis begins to look more and more credible.

This is an update-carried out because new information was received this morning: a report about specific pollutants,produced by Chinese industry,that have been carried across the Pacific,and that have been detected in American skies.(One of the premises of my original post was that infectious materials could be carried long distances in similar fashion.)

The story appears here.

Before the dust of battle settled in Baghdad ; while lovable Baghdad Bob was still telling rapt BBC reporters Saddam was in control of the situation,a chant began to rise-here and abroad.


Where are the Weapons of Mass Destruction ? Show us the WMDs !


For all their self-proclaimed intelligence, they were asking the wrong question: the right one being “Where are the rest of Saddam Hussein’s weapons ?”


(One likely answer – “ in Syria” – did not satisfy them,even though the National Imagery and Mapping Agency described extraordinary road traffic from Iraq to Syria just before Operation Iraqi Freedom began, and even though one of those elusive goodies-in the form of VX gas had been intercepted as Syrian-based militants tried to use it in Jordan.)


The weapons – theater-launched ballistic missiles – loaded with biowarfare agents – had already been fired – at Coalition troops ; and they had left “bullet holes” as far away as India,and New Zealand.


The warheads of these missiles had been loaded with botulinum – laced with a mycotoxin called tricothecene ; with anthrax; with ricin;and with aflatoxin. ( There was some thought one might have carried weaponized Marburg ,but apart from a mysterious outbreak of that deadly disease in Angola,which occurred much,much later,there is little to sustain such a hypothesis.)


There were 20 long-range missiles fired by the Iraqis during Operation Iraqi Freedom . The first launches were fairly accurate,and were aimed at US troops still massed in Kuwait. Three of these were knocked out by Patriot missile batteries. A fourth fell short,exploding in the desert.


The remaining missiles seemed to have been launched almost at random.They flew out over the desert and exploded – usually in mid-air-as they were designed to do. (Bio or chemical warheads are proximity fused to explode above massed troops – like Fourth of July fireworks – and to rain their deadly contents down.)


There were no Coalition troops in the areas these missiles exploded – but they were expected to be there.


In late 2002, an American officer, serving in the Pentagon, was approached by an Iraqi agent,who was willing to pay big money for a look at the US operation plans. The officer reported the contact immediately,and was instructed to “play along” . (The agent,and his courier-a “peace activist” from California-were scooped up by the FBI not long after Iraqi Freedom began.)


Counter-Intelligence agents supplied the officer with copies of OPLAN-1003: the original 1998 plan for Gulf War II . This plan had undergone at least 10 major revisions since then,and, apart from its title,bore little resemblance to the original.


(It interesting to note –from captured Iraqi Intelligence Service documents, certain Russian military personnel may have supplied pre-invasion dispositions of Coalition forces to Iraq as well –apparently using the same disinformation documents.)


It was a successful ruse: one that led Saddam to position his tanks around Baghdad – where they were virtually annihilated by air strikes,and to fire his limited supply of theater missiles into areas long since bypassed or vacated by Coalition troops.



There was another factor: bad weather.


On March 25,2003-right after the Iraqi missile launches,one of the worst sandstorms in recent memory swept through the country: slowing the Coalition advance to a crawl,and spawning dolorous New York Times headlines about a “quagmire”.


The storms also had the effect of sweeping the desert clean; of gathering huge clouds of fine dust – and biotoxins – and carrying them aloft.


There is nothing new or unique about this phenomonon. Every year, the East coast of the United States plays unwitting host to dust from Africa’s Sahara Desert: dust that includes spores,pollen, animal dander, tiny insects,and enough viral and bacterial matter to make epidemiologists thankful for the presence of ozone and solar radiation.


Until very recently, it was believed ozone and solar radiation would kill off such airborne pathogens, but new research suggests otherwise.
In the May 26,2006 “Guardian” ,scientists recounted evidence the very clouds and dust that carry pathogens also act to shield them.


“Giant clouds of dust whipped up by desert storms in Africa can carry infectious organisms to other continents, scientists claim today.
Despite being blown more than three miles high and exposed to radiation from the sun, strains of bacteria and fungi survived and were able to grow when they returned to Earth, researchers found.”



“Among 40 tests of air samples taken in the mid-Atlantic, 24 revealed living microbes, including 26 colonies of bacteria and 83 fungi. They included strains capable of causing disease in humans, animals and plants. A typical gram of Sahara soil contains up to 1bn bacteria, and estimates suggest 2bn tonnes of soil particles are blown around the planet each year. “


"Even if the UV kills 90% of the microbes, dust higher up in the cloud will shade those lower down, so you still get a phenomenal number surviving," said lead scientist Dale Griffin of the US Geological Survey. His research will be presented at the American Society for Microbiology meeting in Orlando today.


Dr Griffin's team used genetic tests to prove that the micro-organisms collected in the Atlantic were from specific regions in Africa. The microbes included Gordonia terra, which can cause skin disease in humans, Massaria rosatii which infects sycamore trees, and Alternaria dauci, a cause of carrot blight.

Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,,1782440,00.html




This dust storm” fallout” doesn’t fly like an arrow. It wanders: borne north by this trade wind; south by that trade wind. It may visit one island and skip another. It may take several months before it reaches land -or it may not reach land at all. This is the nature of wind-borne debris.


During the Cold War-when nuclear testing was commonplace-it was not unusual to discover Strontium-90 from a nuclear explosion in Ulan Bator in the milk of Minnesota dairy cows,several months later. (Our fallout often landed on our allies-much to everyone’s embarrassment.)


The Biotoxins from Iraq were part of a “new breed” of bio-weapon :one that had been engineered to resist the effects of sunshine and oxygen –via a novel, silicon-based coating, applied during the spray drying process. Instead of dissipating within hours or days , they had a shelf life that could me measured in months – or,in the case of anthrax – years !


I began to see their effects – the fingerprints of Saddam Hussein – in “odd corners” of the world.


By way of quick explanation, shortly after the Anthrax attacks of 2001, I became a regular contributor to the now-dormant BioHazard News- an online journal that “kept an eye on” clusters of diseases,incidents suggestive of biowarfare,and incidents arising from the War on Terror.


One of the websites I found myself visiting on a daily basis was ProMed: “the global electronic reporting system for outbreak of emerging contagious diseases and toxins”. ProMed is sponsored by The International Society for Infectious Diseases,and was, at that time, affiliated with the Federation of American Scientists .


Here is the ProMed link:


http://www.promedmail.org/pls/askus/f?p=2400:1000:



Incidents and Clusters Suggestive of Biotoxin Poisoning : Please note I have included ProMed Archive identification numbers for those of you who might wish to make an independent search.


Please keep in mind the “incident dates” are the dates a report was forwarded to ProMed , and sometimes include outbreaks that began weeks before the report date.


Incident No. 1 (Status – doubtful) :Reports filed 09 May 03 : Index number: 20030509.1153, and 10 May 03 : Index number 20030510.1164

Undiagnosed disease,ebola-like symptoms, southern Sudan. Marburg comes to mind ; however,this viral disease has a very short “shelf life”: 4-6 days outside a host/nutrition source and it seems unlikely it could survive the trip. Note: Ricin could survive,and could produce similar symptoms.


Incident No. 2 ( Status – Insufficient data ): Report filed 28 May 03: Index number 20030528.1309.


Unexplained deaths on Ukerewe Island, Tanzania. 582 people infected;55 “youths” dead. The Tanzanians appear to have explored and eliminated a number of possibilities: tainted fish,polluted well water,presence of an unknown toxin. Unfortunately,their report lacks description of symptoms,manner of death,and other clarifying details. There does not seem to have been any follow-up reporting. Note: Very tentatively,Botulinum comes to mind.



Incident No. 3 (Status-Possible,with reservations) Report was not filed until 30 June 03 –(Outbreak began in April) . Index number 20030630.1614


There were 83 cases of human Anthrax , resulting in 7 deaths,in India’s Koraput District. As noted, the outbreak began in April. Anthrax, in its spore form (the form used in bioweapons) is an exceptionally hardy bacteria,and could easily survive a journey from Iraq. Note: Anthrax is endemic in parts of India . Health officials there – who are usually Hindus and deplore consumption of beef – invariably blame the outbreaks on the victims. “They ate bad meat”, etc.


Incident No. 4 ( Status- High probability) Report was not filed until 28 August 03 (Outbreak began in May). Index number 20030828.2175


Karnataka region of India. There were 12 reported cases of human Anthrax,and12 cattle had died of the disease. Several pigs-normally thought to be immune to the disease-had also died…plus a large number of vultures-universally believed immune to the disease. It appeared the grass on which livestock grazed was heavily infested with the bacteria.

The death of pigs and vultures is strongly suggestive of the presence of “enhanced anthrax” : one of the nightmarish projects Ken Alibek was involved in when he was director of the Soviet’s Biopreparat program.When the Soviet Union imploded,many of the Biopreparat scientists found work in other countries-notably Syria and Iraq.


Note: Anthrax is endemic to the region , and the usual excuses about “spoiled meat” were given.



Incident No. 5 (Status-Probable : Mycotoxin) I have found 5 reports,made on varying dates-all of which appear to refer to the same outbreak. The Index numbers are : 20030606.1399 ,20030607.1410 , 2003608.1416 , 20030612.1449 , and 20030716.1753


This outbreak began in West Bengal, India,sometime during the month of May,2003, and ravaged 5 small villages.By the time it ended,approximately 132 children had died, and at least 300 were gravely ill.


Indian health authorities offered a wide range of “official diagnoses”, ranging from pneumonia to Japanese encephalitis ; however, none of these stood up to the rigors of lab testing, and the cause remained unknown.


Because of the victims’ ages, it was speculated something might have tainted the powdered milk supply,and there were near-riots between villagers and authorities.


The symptoms: high fever,breathlessness,convulsions,increased salivation, and stiffening of the jaws were consistent with mycotoxin. Note: No official finding has ever been agreed upon.


Incident No. 6 ( Possible Ricin involvement) Reported 28 August 03.Index number 20030828.2165


This is one of the more intriguing clusters, because it took place in faraway Dunedin, New Zealand ! Three previously healthy,active adults-no known relationship to one another-no known environmental exposures- were stricken,one after another,with a pneumonia – like ailment,for which no viral or bacterial cause was ever discovered,but which killed each of them in a matter of a day.Note: Symptoms consistent with Ricin inhalation.

COMMENTS


Let me stress one point: The incidents reported to ProMed – startling as they might be – are not necessarily the only related events. They are reports filed by a relatively small group of conscientious physicians and health workers , and could well be just the tip of a very large iceberg.



Life , in many parts of the world ,is short. Medical care ranges from “iffy” to non-existent, and death by disease or mishap is unremarkable.


The villagers may know that So-and-So’s baby died on the same night that the reigning matriarch of the village passed away – but, apart from noticing the coincidence,have nothing to connect it to the Aflatoxin that dusted parts of their village – or the roaring battles of great armies in faraway places.


Iraqi Survey Group Findings


The findings of the Iraq Survey Group, which conducted searches of likely locations after the fall of Baghdad, have been widely trumpeted as
“negative” ; and the public has been given to understand “no weapons programs were found” ; but this is hardly the truth.

The truth is , enormous amounts of “trace evidence” were found – PLUS evidence of a massive “cleanup” : burned documents, hacked up computer hard drives , and-above all, evidence of hasty removal of materials and people . The ISG could not produce evidence of WMDs
as a result, and was roughly in the position of a wife who returns home to discover her bed has been slept in, there are strange hairs on the pillows , a glass with lipstick traces in the dishwasher,and her husband
is unable to look her in the eye. It’s not PROOF of adultery, but what else can it be ?

Here’s a link to the ISG interim report:

http://www.cia.gov/cia/public_affairs/speeches/2003/david_kay_10022003.html


Missing / Dead Scientists


This is another topic that never quite captured Media attention HERE, but was remarked upon extensively abroad. Quite simply,Iraqi scientists who would have been in a position to know about, and/or to have participated in Iraq’s WMD programs were threatened, killed , kidnapped, or are “unaccounted for”.
(Source is the Brussels Tribunal - a Left wing group supportive of Saddam's regime.You will find references to "American death squads", etc.,which may be taken with a few tons of salt : Coalition forces were quite anxious to lay hands on and question any Iraqi scientists, and would have gladly rewarded anyone who could fill in the informational gaps !)

http://www.brusselstribunal.org/academicsList.htm

193 were killed,49 are "missing-unaccounted for" and 76 are listed as "threatened,arrested by coaltion forces,or fled the country."






CONCLUSIONS


There was extensive pre-war intelligence –including a defector from the Iraqi “Special Weapons Program” ,and reports from the UN inspectors,and reports from our own CIA that Iraq had a “robust” bio-weapons program.


There were warnings – immediately before Operation Iraqi Freedom- of Saddam’s Bioweapons programs : from King Abdullah II of Jordan, and from Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak – both of whom had intelligence and diplomatic assets in Iraq.


It is now fashionable to sneer when MOPP suits are mentioned – as if they were mere window dressing. (Try telling that to the troops – and to the embedded reporters- who cursed the hot,restrictive protective garments every moment of the day – while worrying what would happen if the suit developed a tear, or the gas mask did not achieve a proper seal,or they were wounded while in a “hot” environment !)


That fact Saddam’s troops had similar suits in their barracks, and nerve gas antidote syringes close at hand suggests nothing else but the presence of poison gas , and a readiness to employ it. Captured post-war documents indicate the Iraqi military took considerable pains to insure the suits would protect against bio-warfare threats as well.


Does anyone recall the unwillingness of Iraqi troops to engage in combat during Gulf War I ? Has anyone contrasted that with the utter ferocity they displayed during Iraqi Freedom ? Has anyone wondered at the difference?


I believe a large part of the difference was the leaflets we dropped on Iraqi troops by the hundred thousands in the opening days of the conflict. The leaflets warned the Iraqis they would be held strictly accountable for any use of WMDs.


I further suspect a few Iraqi troops knew WMDs had been used , and that they expected to be shot out of hand if captured by Coalition forces.
It would not surprise me to learn these troops immediately “joined the resistance”.


Our troops –and their Iraqi opponents – “lucked out” when good counter-intelligence tactics, a lightning-fast advance,and a brutal sandstorm combined to remove the danger of Iraqi bioweapons from the battlefield .

(There are still isolated reports of odd illnesses popping up in people who serve or have served in Iraq. In one case, a few months ago, an East coast police officer died at home of “natural causes” that were never made public. Something about the appearance of his corpse caused first responders to go back and get “moon suits” out of their rigs before moving his body.)


The record- incomplete and inconclusive as it may seem- suggests to me that the people at the end of the bioweapons chain were not as fortunate ; and, that in some cases, their deaths bear the unmistakable fingerprints of Saddam Hussein’s Bio-weapons program.




Suggested Additional Reading: (hardcover) “Biohazard” by Ken Alibek. Dr. Alibek (Kanatjan Alibekov) was the former director of the Soviet Union’s Biopreparat program : one of the most ambitious-and frightening- biowarfare projects of all time.


“American Soldier” by Retired General Tommy Franks 

---

Anthrax and Al-Qaeda (Ross Getman)

Ross Getman is a politically "progressive" upstate NY attorney,who believes al-Qaeda was behind the Anthrax attacks of 2001.

He has done an enormous amount of research on the matter, and his views are compelling. (I tend to agree with him, but believe those who carried out the attacks may have been acting "in parallel" with the terrorists,for reasons of their own-not an uncommon situation.)

Here is the text of a message I received from Ross today:

Al Qaeda Claim - in Fall 2001 - , that US-Based Operatives Who Had  Gained Access to US Government and Intelligence Information Had Been Green-Lighted On Biological Attack

   In October or November  2001, Al Qaeda's spokesman Abu Ghaith wrote a letter to the Administration with the message that they would use their biological weapons if the US did not stop their financial and military support for Israel and the Muslim regimes.

A  letter from Abu ‘Abullah Al-Kuwaiti  outlined the next attack against the Americans  and issued a statement to the Americans to let them know of their fighters’ readiness to kill hundreds of thousands with their nuclear and biological arsenal.

  Abu Gha'ith, Bin Laden's spokesman, was from Kuwait and made a similar threat in a videotape released June 2002.  The letter has been declassified and cleared for release by West Point Combatting Terrorism Center in 2006.

"Your Brother Abu ‘Abdullah Al-Kuwaiti;
1- Announcing publicly the next attack.
2- Announcing publicly that we gave some groups the green light to move.
3- The groups that are present in America and Europe are above suspicion.
4- We obtain our intelligence information from your government and intelligence agencies.*
5- The statement/letter should be directed to the American people.
A- There is no animosity between us. You involved yourselves in this battle.
The war is between us and the Jews. You interfered in our countries and influenced our governments to strike against the Moslems.

If the American people are ready to die as we are ready to die, then our combat groups along with our military, nuclear, and biological equipment will kill hundreds of thousands of people we don’t wish to fight.

B- If you are ready to die as we are ready to die, the thousand present here in Afghanistan equals hundreds of thousands of Americans.

I am pleased to inform you that the billions you spent fighting us so far have resulted in killing a small number of us. We consider them martyrs and they did not exceed (10) martyrs. We warn you that our war against you has not ended, and its effects will increase.

Isn’t it time to end American arrogance and begin listening to your people before you experience more devastating disasters?"

      Earlier in October,  Abu Graith had appeared on two widely-circulated videos  on al Jazeera television to defend the attacks and threaten retaliation for the subsequent US invasion of Afghanistan, saying "Americans should know, the storm of the planes will not stop... There are thousands of the Islamic nation's youths who are eager to die just as the Americans are eager to live."

  In June 2002, he renewed the biochem threat, more broadly, urging that under the Koran, it was morally justified to kill up to 4 million Americans, including 1 million children, with biological or chemical weapons.

In July 2003, a Kuwaiti minister announced that the Iranian government had offered to extradite Abu Ghaith to Kuwait, but that Kuwait had refused the offer. It is unclear (as of July 2003) whether he is currently in Iranian custody, or indeed in Iran at all.

Biowarfare-The Iraqi Trailers Minority Report"

There is one report on the Iraqi trailers which was never widely publicized or given much credit. After all, THE NEW YORK TIMES had announced they were merely hydrogen generators for harmless weather baloons !

An official report was written up to that effect, and became part of the Bush-Lied-People-Died legend base ; but there was another report - minority opinion to be sure,but, in light of all that has emerged about Iraq's biowarfare programs, this report deserves to be read carefully, and in full. (Pdf format).

With no further ado, I present:

http://www.cia.gov/cia/reports/iraqi_mobile_plants/paper_w.pdf

Read it with care, and make your own decision !

The Iraqi Biowarfare Jigsaw Puzzle

There is a big difference between Courtroom Evidence –which has to be nearly letter perfect – and Actionable Intelligence – which , being made up of odd-looking scraps of information, must be analyzed and fitted together-jigsaw puzzle style to form so a course of action may be determined.

Here is one such piece: a rather covertly-handled order from Iraq for wing tanks for Sukhoi and Mig fighter planes.(Source is captured Iraqi Intelligence Service documents.)

CMPC-2003-002611

AEROGLOB LIMITED

Office 607: Entrance 3

Krasnopresnenskaya NAD, 12

Moscouw, 123610, Russia

BAGHDAD OFFICE

No: 491

Date: 23/11/2002 (11/23/02 by American-style dating)

Respected Gentlemen/ Armos Trading Company

Mr. Dr. Siham Al Din Khair Al Ali- Acting Director.

Subject: Transfer of deposits and execution of contracts.

We offer you our best wishes

In regards to our letter 417 on 14/9/2002 and that contains a request to transfer the deposits of the special contracts specialized in equipping SUKHOI TANKS AND MATERIALS OF MIG 29 from the Bank of AL Rafidayn Amman branch to the Philadelphia Jordanian Bank we plead you to cancel this request of ours and keep the deposits in the Bank of Al Rafidayn because of changes in the policy of the bank with its agents which could effect the secrecy of work with you.

We plead you to take the necessary measures and with the fastest possible way due to the extreme importance of the subject thanking your cooperation… with our regards

Copy to/ Respected Gentlemen PW318 to please acknowledge.

Signature

Aleg Tiripen

Executive Director for Russian Aeroglob Company

Okay: Here is one puzzle piece. It is an order for specialized wing tanks "and material" for two of the jet fighter types known to be in the Iraqi arsenal. These are Russian-made aircraft , and it is not surprising an order for "spare parts" was directed to Aeroglob – a Russian company.

Ah, but why the "hocus-pocus" with the bank ? Why the worry about "the secrecy of work with you" ? Was it just "typical Iraqi paranoia" –or something else ?

Enter the infamous " Dr. Germ ".

Document

CMPC-2003-004346

reveals that Dr. Rehab Rasheed Taha, otherwise known as Dr. Germ, prepared an analysis in 2002 of how to spread biological weapons material using an aircraft as the medium, and how far they had advanced on the application:

In the name of God, most Merciful, most Compassionate

THE BIOLOGICAL COMMITTEE DECISION

An appendage to the Biological Committee Decision, on 10 March 2002, subsequent to the biological activity combined list review, that was received after the delegate’s return from Moscow, and in reference to the concluded meeting convened on 10 April 2002, [when] the (GRL) draft list study was completed. – The Biological Section is evaluating what is shown in the third revised attachment for the continuous observation and examination plan. - The grades are subject to change according to the automation of export and import controls, according to resolution 1051 (1996) issued in document No. (S / 2001 / 560) which shows us the following:

1 – What is included in the draft list (GRL) is similar to what is included in the revised comments; submissive grades according to the system of export and import controls except the following:

Paragraph 7-1 from the revised statement and the (GRL) draft about the aircraft sprayers that are able to scatter dust. The dispensing percentage exceeds the one liter suspended liquid per minute or 10 grams of the dry substance per minute, therefore the size of the aerosol or dust portions were increased to the size of (15) microns or less.

b. A new paragraph under No. (11) was added to the draft list (GRL). According to that, it combined microscopic conservation equipment and Micro Encapsulation that was taken from the reviewed merchandise list (the additional list) stated in resolution (1382) 2001.

The (GRL) draft list indicated changes to the biological part, which was placed in the last page of the draft. Agents were added for the use of tissues and cell cultures (Cell Culture Mediators), and added cell growth cultures to cow fetus serums of (1) liter or more. These changes are not included in the mentioned list in paragraph (5) relating to culture media.

2. According to the changes shown in Paragraph (1-7), it increases the size of aerosol portions or the dust, and limits it to within (15) microns or less that and does not create a problem. The available information that we’ve been referring to is that agricultural usage doesn’t need these small sizes (quantities), but larger sizes (quantities). What is related to the change in the previously added paragraph (11), combining microscopic conservation equipment and micro encapsulation also does not create a problem because the use of this equipment is very limited, and it does not effect the production or research process.

Changes mentioned (suggested) in paragraph (5), that subjoin culture agents used in tissue culturing or cells and cell growth culturing to cow fetus serum is not considered a problem. These agents [were] originally entered including the complicated culture agent paragraph mentioned in paragraph (5) from the revised comments of the grades that are subject to notification in accordance to the system of imports and exports, that were imposed by resolution 1051 (1996).

Review please with respects.

Dr. Rehab Rasheed Taha
Committee Chief
Captain
Senan Abdel Hassan
Member
04-13-2002 (US date – 04/13/02 )
Thamer Abdel Rahman
Member
04-13-2002

Now things are looking a bit more ominous. We are talking clearly about spraying materials from wing tanks, mounted on state-of-the-art Iraqi fighter jets. Who uses fighter jets for crop dusting ?

We are also talking about micro-encapsulization agents (obtained from Russia !) which are used to protect biowarfare agents from the effects of sunlight ; thus extending their "kill time" in a battle zone.

Finally, we are talking about the acquisition of "cow fetus serums" –usable as growth medium for a number of very nasty items: anthrax, "Mad Cow Disease" , and an Ebola-like hemorrhagic fever (which, according to other IIS documents,had been noted in parts of Iraq,near the Iranian border.It had infected cattle,and was being transmitted by tick bites to humans.)

All of the above pieces , fitted together , reveal a flourishing sub-rosa biowarfare project that was being conducted under the noses of UNMOVIC inspectors- and with the assistance of our Russian "allies" !