Anthrax: The Hunt Narrows

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The timing is deeply suspicious. And since Assaad is Egyptian born, he would seem to make a perfect fall guy. FBI agents met with him on Oct. 3 and, after a 45-minute interview, told him they were convinced the letter was a hoax. Assaad says he is sure he was being set up by the real anthrax killer to take the blame for the attacks.

Barbara Hatch Rosenberg, a molecular biologist who works with the Federation of American Scientists on biological weapons issues, thinks Assaad may be right. Moreover, based on her own analysis she has prepared a profile of the killer far more detailed than anything the FBI has released. She thinks the killer is a middle-aged American who works for a CIA contractor in the Washington area but has had access in the past to the labs at Fort Detrick. She believes he or she has been vaccinated against anthrax and knows how to conceal forensic evidence. Says Rosenberg: "It's highly probable that the perpetrator is someone who was known in the lab, someone who was thought to be O.K." Based on the composition of the anthrax, she thinks, it is likely that the killer knows William Patrick III, the former Fort Detrick bioengineer who holds several secret patents on processes for weaponizing bacteria.

Biodefense insiders have given the bureau a list of roughly 50 scientists with the expertise to have carried out the anthrax attacks, says Rosenberg. The FBI said in December that it was looking for someone who fit many of Rosenberg's criteria, but the bureau has not said much since. "I certainly haven't seen any evidence that they have followed up on all the clues," Rosenberg complains. Despite its public silence, says FBI spokesman Mike Kor-tan, the bureau is in fact pushing forward.

In the end, it may turn out that the dysfunctional environment and lax controls at USAMRIID have nothing to do with the anthrax killer. But if not, all that means is this particular ticking bomb didn't go off.