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Anthrax In America: A Chronology and Analysis of the Fall 2001 Attacks
Anthrax In America: A Chronology and Analysis of the Fall 2001 Attacks
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On September 11, 2001, terrorists linked to Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda terror
network hijacked four airliners. Two of the planes crashed into the World Trade Center
towers in New York City, and a third into the Pentagon in Washington, DC. A fourth
plane crashed in rural Pennsylvania en route to its suspected target, the U.S. Capitol
building. The attacks and their dramatic demonstration of American vulnerability created
an atmosphere of apprehension and uncertainty. Further attacks were anticipated,
although there was a great deal of uncertainty as to when those attacks might occur and
what form they might take.Against this backdrop, on 4 October 2001, health officials in Florida announced that Robert Stevens, a tabloid photo editor at American Media, Inc. (AMI), had been
diagnosed with pulmonary anthrax – the first such case in the United States in almost
twenty-five years. Initially, the patient’s condition was attributed to a natural source.
However, after two of the victim’s co-workers fell ill and anthrax spores were discovered
throughout the building in which they worked, these initial assessments soon gave way to
apprehension. Other cases began to appear at media outlets in New York City. These
new cases revealed the possible source of the exposure: almost all of those infected in
New York had come into direct contact with letters containing a mysterious powder.
In mid-October, the crisis reached Washington, DC, when an anthrax-laden letter was
opened in the office of Senator Tom Daschle (D-SD). Several workers at the postal
facility that processed the letter fell ill with pulmonary anthrax. Congressional office
buildings were evacuated and virtually all federal government mail delivery in the
nation’s capital was halted as a result. An additional letter, addressed to Senator Patrick
Leahy (D-VT), was found during a search of quarantined mail, bringing the total number
of anthrax-laden letters sent to at least four.
With the realization that these infections stemmed from a deliberate act, what originally started out as a public health responseincreasingly became a law enforcement investigation.
network hijacked four airliners. Two of the planes crashed into the World Trade Center
towers in New York City, and a third into the Pentagon in Washington, DC. A fourth
plane crashed in rural Pennsylvania en route to its suspected target, the U.S. Capitol
building. The attacks and their dramatic demonstration of American vulnerability created
an atmosphere of apprehension and uncertainty. Further attacks were anticipated,
although there was a great deal of uncertainty as to when those attacks might occur and
what form they might take.Against this backdrop, on 4 October 2001, health officials in Florida announced that Robert Stevens, a tabloid photo editor at American Media, Inc. (AMI), had been
diagnosed with pulmonary anthrax – the first such case in the United States in almost
twenty-five years. Initially, the patient’s condition was attributed to a natural source.
However, after two of the victim’s co-workers fell ill and anthrax spores were discovered
throughout the building in which they worked, these initial assessments soon gave way to
apprehension. Other cases began to appear at media outlets in New York City. These
new cases revealed the possible source of the exposure: almost all of those infected in
New York had come into direct contact with letters containing a mysterious powder.
In mid-October, the crisis reached Washington, DC, when an anthrax-laden letter was
opened in the office of Senator Tom Daschle (D-SD). Several workers at the postal
facility that processed the letter fell ill with pulmonary anthrax. Congressional office
buildings were evacuated and virtually all federal government mail delivery in the
nation’s capital was halted as a result. An additional letter, addressed to Senator Patrick
Leahy (D-VT), was found during a search of quarantined mail, bringing the total number
of anthrax-laden letters sent to at least four.
With the realization that these infections stemmed from a deliberate act, what originally started out as a public health responseincreasingly became a law enforcement investigation.
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