Clues point to domestic culprits in mail case
Homegrown source most likely, experts say, since only timing implicates foreign group
By ESTANISLAO OZIEWICZ
Thursday, October 25, 2001 – Print Edition, Page A4
Anthrax-spiked letters causing terror in the United States are more likely the work of right-wing domestic militants than Islamic terrorists, a Canadian terrorism consultant says.
"On balance at the moment, I'm inclined to look at the extremist right possibility," David Harris, former director of strategic planning for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, said yesterday.
His theory was supported in part by U.S. experts in criminal pyschology and handwriting.
They all were commenting on letters released by U.S. authorities that are at the core of biological attacks that have left three people dead and others seriously ill.
The involvement of homegrown terrorists, if true, would be a major embarrassment for the Bush administration and also open another front in its war against terrorism.
Earlier this week, Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said he does not believe the letters were the work of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terror network. As well, U.S. investigators have unearthed no publicly revealed connection between the anthrax incidents and the Sept. 11 suicide attacks.
Clinton Van Zandt, a former Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal profiler specializing in pyschology, told U.S. reporters that the letters could be the work of a "homegrown militant" seeking to take advantage of the Sept. 11 attacks.
It is this possibility that intrigues Mr. Harris, the former senior CSIS official. He said that while Mr. bin Laden's network cannot be ruled out as a suspect, the anthrax attacks could also be the handiwork of right-wing fanatics or a biochemical Unabomber.
"When you consider the overriding objective of bringing down the national authority the extremist right has, it's worth considering that with the manifest disaster that the World Trade Center episode brought a month ago, I would find it absolutely in character that a bunch of right-wing extremists of the right-wing militia bent would say, 'Wow, this is the big push, maybe it could take a few other pushes to send the whole foundation over,' " he said.
The U.S. Justice Department released copies of letters sent to two U.S. media outlets and to a U.S. senator as it sought help from the public in identifying those responsible for the postal terrorism.
The letters have many similarities beyond the block lettering and the date "09-11-01" at the top. They also all say "Death to America," "Death to Israel," and "Allah is Great."
The New York Times has cited unnamed senior law-enforcement officials as saying it was possible that a domestic terror group could be responsible.
Mr. Harris said the reference to Allah could easily be a ruse or diversion.
"It's certainly a deceptive possibility in all of this stuff. . . . There's something about that smells on that level and I'm, at the very least, not persuaded by the Allah reference. It's almost too stereotypical in some ways."
Moreover, said Mr. Harris, current terror groups, be they foreign or domestic, are no longer as consumed as they once were in claiming credit for their terrorist activities.
Since the letters were released, some U.S. media have focused on graphology, or handwriting analysis. Most experts appear to agree that the letters and envelopes were written by the same person.
However, Gideon Epstein, former chief forensic document examiner for the U.S. Army and the Immigration and Naturalization Service, told ABC News he would look at domestic suspects.
"This writing does not give me the feeling that this person is unfamiliar with our alphabet. The letters, the formation of the letters and the speed and fluency with which they're made is more consistent with somebody who's homegrown rather than someone who's just off the boat." |
