Remember
the scene in the movie Three Kings (about the Persian Gulf War) where
USA Sergeant Troy Barlow (Marky
Mark Wahlberg) is being interrogated by Said, a young captain in the
Iraqi guard? Said, having attached electrodes to Troy's head, begins
the interrogation by asking, "What is the problem with Michael
Jackson?" Troy doesn't have the answer Said is looking for. Said
continues: "He's Pop King of sick fucking country." I imagine that's
what Mohamad Atta and his cohort hijackers were thinking when they
mailed an anthrax-laced letter to AMI -headquarters of the
National Enquirer and Sun tabloids. - "They (AMI) are Media Kings of
sick fucking country."
The
anthrax letter that is suspected of contaminating the AMI building and
killing one worker has been described as "a weird love letter" to
Jennifer Lopez that contained a soapy powder and a Star of David
pendant. It was addressed to J. Lopez, C/O the Sun tabloids. The AMI
tabloids, in many aspects, mirrors the sick, seamy side of
American culture. The tabloids are filled with squalid stories about J
Lo, O.J., Bill Clinton, Michael Jackson and other famous and infamous
media stars. To Muslim suicide bombers on a holy mission in the land
of the Great Satan, AMI would represent the perfect representational
target. I can just see the hijacker/anthrax mailers now, sitting in
their apartment saying "yeah, and we'll address it to J Lo and we'll
throw in a Star of David - that'll get the letter noticed."
Not too many people realize that this
letter was probably mailed on September 3rd in the Boca Raton, Florida
area - home to AMI and some of the hijackers. It was received at AMI
on September 4th, exactly one week before the September 11th terror
attacks. Ex-Army scientist Steven Hatfill of course did not know of
the September 11th terror attacks on September 3rd and 4th, so he or
another insider/scientist more than likely did not mail this letter.
All signs, however, point to the hijackers
who lived in the area.
The other anthrax letters, sent to Senators Leahy and Daschle and to
Tom Brokaw and the editor of the New York Post, were mailed at least a
week after 9/11. These letters were much different than the noticeable
J Lo letter. These letters contained sternly worded messages that
mentioned September 11th, death to America and Israel, and Allah.
The anthrax investigation (Amerithrax)
has been a frustrating one for the FBI and Postal Inspectors. Part of
the frustration lies in the differences between the Florida letter and
the letters mailed in New Jersey to addresses in Washington and New
York. When one looks at the New Jersey aspect of the investigation
alone, it appears that the leading suspect would be a "government
insider". But when investigators try to tie it into the Florida case
the evidence just doesn't meld. The same goes for the Florida aspect
when investigators try to tie it into the New Jersey mailings.
It's probable that the Florida letter
was mailed by the hijackers. Moreover, it's possible, and I only say
possible, that Steven Hatfill or another insider/scientist mailed the
New Jersey anthrax letters coincidentally without knowing that another
anthrax letter had been mailed by the hijackers. (The Florida letter
wasn't discovered to have been contaminated with anthrax until the
first week in October, a week or two after the first New Jersey
letters were sent.) This improbable but possible coincidence may be
the reason why the investigation has gone in circles.
An FBI profile of the anthrax mailer
paints the portrait of a government-connected scientist who is
actually highly patriotic - calculatingly deranged, but nevertheless
patriotic. Here's the scenario I imagine in Steven Hatfill's (or
another insider/scientist's) world. In the days after September 11th,
this Insider is sitting at home watching news of the terror aftermath.
Like many patriotic Americans, this Insider was probably enraged at
what he saw and wanted revenge. The Insider, remembering that he had
once secreted a vial of anthrax out of a lab, got an idea. (Having a
bit of anthrax was an elixir of power to this person. The Insider
decided that he would use his power for the greater good.) He wanted
the Islamics to pay for what they had done and he wanted to make sure
that the government and American people were sufficiently riled up
enough to follow through on justice and revenge. So the Insider crafted
a couple of letters with rhetoric that was sure to elicit rage and
revenge:
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