FBI AGENTS said they saw no evidence immediately linking the New York case to the anthrax found in Florida -- or to the Sept. 11 terror attacks that killed thousands in New York, Pennsylvania and at the Pentagon.
OK.
I can accept that these anthrax cases aren't necessarily linked to September 11. A little odd, but I can actually buy that.
But not linked to each other? What, we've got SEVERAL people wandering around mailing anthrax spores of various types?
Well, isn't that a comfort?
I know they'd be accused of keeping secrets or interfering with "people's right to know", but I swear, if the FBI can't say something genuinely informative and useful, they ought to just shut the hell up. I mean, just take, for example, the ever so wonderfully (if briefly) named "Skyfall" warning they sent out yesterday. (And you just know some harried news office person got yelled at over that name, don't you? And so they should.) I can understand that, just maybe, it might have been useful to say something to police departments if you actually had specific information. But every police department in the country has been on high alert since the attacks on Afghanistan started; they can't go any higher without arresting every person in the country. (And, you know, completely neurotic police is just what we need right now, isn't it?) Telling them to "watch out" without telling them to watch out for is completely pointless. Even more pointless is telling the public, "Well, we think something's going to happen. We don't know what, we don't know when, but ... something. Watch out!" That, combined with anthrax popping up in media organizations here and there (well, there must be SOMETHING linking NBC and American Media Inc, and that's all I can see) ... nothing like just making an entire country even twitchier than they already are.
(I've promised myself that I'm not going to talk about Dubya's speech exhorting children to send dollar bills through the mail to the White House. Not going to talk about using children for propaganda purposes. Not going to talk about the government dunning children. Not going to talk about the inadvisability of sending actual money through the mail. Nope nope nope. Not gonna do it. Wouldn't be prudent. Wouldn't be in the spirit of national unity and not criticising the president's actions because it makes a tough job tougher. So not doin' it. Nope.)
(But can we import Tony Blair for a while? Or at least his speechwriters and dramatic coaches? Please?)
Copyright © 2001, Iain Jackson, after-words.org
[Archives: 2001 and after]
Archives before February 5, 2001
Search entries:
12/19/2001: vive la france
12/19/2001: princess, redux
12/19/2001: yemen and rumsfeld
12/18/2001: you're NOT in the army now
12/18/2001: interesting donation
12/18/2001: shame on winn dixie, indeed
12/18/2001: saudi princess
12/17/2001: new resolve
12/17/2001: a victim of the attack ... yeah, right
12/17/2001: polluters ho!