9/11 20th Anniversary

9/11

2001 ANTHRAX ATTACKS

Anthrax Note (1)

(Tom Brokaw, NBC)

The Official Story

2001 ANTHRAX ATTACKS

The 2001 anthrax attacks, also known as Amerithrax (a portmanteau of “America” and “anthrax”) from its FBI case name, occurred in the United States over the course of several weeks beginning on September 18, 2001, one week after the September 11 terrorist attacks. Letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to several news media offices and to Democratic Senators Tom Daschle and Patrick Leahy, killing five people and infecting 17 others. According to the FBI, the ensuing investigation became “one of the largest and most complex in the history of law enforcement”.

A major focus in the early years of the investigation was bioweapons expert Steven Hatfill, who was eventually exonerated. Bruce Edwards Ivins, a scientist at the government’s biodefense labs at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland, became a focus around April 4, 2005. On April 11, 2007, Ivins was put under periodic surveillance and an FBI document stated that he was “an extremely sensitive suspect in the 2001 anthrax attacks”. On July 29, 2008, Ivins died by suicide with an overdose of acetaminophen.

The letters

Authorities believe that the anthrax letters were mailed from Princeton, New Jersey. Investigators found anthrax spores in a city street mailbox located at 10 Nassau Street near the Princeton University campus. About 600 mailboxes were tested for anthrax which could have been used to mail the letters, and the Nassau Street box was the only one to test positive.

The New York Post and NBC News letters contained the following note:

09-11-01
THIS IS NEXT
TAKE PENACILIN [sic] NOW
DEATH TO AMERICA
DEATH TO ISRAEL
ALLAH IS GREAT

The second note was addressed to Senators Daschle and Leahy and read:

09-11-01
YOU CAN NOT STOP US.
WE HAVE THIS ANTHRAX.
YOU DIE NOW.
ARE YOU AFRAID?
DEATH TO AMERICA.
DEATH TO ISRAEL.
ALLAH IS GREAT.

All the letters were copies made by a copy machine, and the originals were never found. Each letter was trimmed to a slightly different size. The senate letter uses punctuation, while the media letter does not. The handwriting on the media letter and envelopes is roughly twice the size of the handwriting on the senate letter and envelopes. The envelopes addressed to Senators Daschle and Leahy had a fictitious return address:

4th Grade
Greendale School
Franklin Park NJ 08852

Franklin Park, New Jersey exists, but the ZIP code 08852 is for nearby Monmouth Junction, New Jersey. There is no Greendale School in Franklin Park or Monmouth Junction, New Jersey, though there is a Greenbrook Elementary School in adjacent South Brunswick Township, New Jersey.

TOM BROKAW
(Target of the 2001 Anthrax Attacks)

Thomas John Brokaw ( born February 6, 1940) is an American television journalist and author. He was the anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News for 22 years (1982–2004). He is the only person to have hosted all three major NBC News programs: The Today Show, NBC Nightly News, and, briefly, Meet the Press. He now serves as a special correspondent for NBC News and works on documentaries for other outlets.

Along with his competitors Peter Jennings at ABC News and Dan Rather at CBS News, Brokaw was one of the “Big Three” news anchors in the U.S. during the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. The three hosted their networks’ flagship nightly news programs for over 20 years, and all three started and retired from the anchor chair (or died, in Jennings’ case) with Dan Rather notably being ousted from CBS due to false reports aired on 60 Minutes II within a year of each other.

Brokaw has also written several books on American history and society in the 20th century. He is the author of The Greatest Generation (1998) and other books and the recipient of numerous awards and honors including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which was awarded to him by President Barack Obama in 2014.

9/11

On September 11, 2001, Brokaw joined Katie Couric and Matt Lauer around 9:30 a.m., following the live attack on the South Tower of the World Trade Center, and continued to anchor all day, until after midnight.

Following the collapse of the second tower, Brokaw observed: “This is war. This is a declaration and an execution of an attack on the United States.” He continued to anchor coverage to midnight on the following two days. Later that month, a letter containing anthrax was addressed to him as part of the 2001 anthrax attacks. Brokaw was not harmed, but two NBC News employees were infected.

In 2008, he testified before the Commission on Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism about the anthrax attacks, publicly discussing his experiences for the first time in a detailed, day-by-day account.

Source: Wikipedia