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FBI says it has no clues on anthrax attacks

The US FBI admitted Tuesday it had no clues on who was behind the bioterror attack that has left four people dead, more than a dozen infected, and a public in a state of near-panic.

The admission, coming from FBI Deputy Assistant Director James Caruso at a hearing in the Senate Subcommittee on Technology, Terrorism and Government Information, has triggered a firestorm among lawmakers, some of whom had to evacuate their offices after anthrax spores had been detected on Capitol Hill.

"The bottom line is this: as of now you don't know where the anthrax came from, and you have not been able to identify all the people who may have access to it. Is that fair?" asked Democratic Senator John Edwards. "That's correct," Caruso replied.

Senator Dianne Feinstein's question on how many research facilities worked with anthrax bacteria in the US also left the head of the FBI's counterterrorism division at a loss.

"We do not know that at this time," Caruso acknowledged.

"Could you possibly tell me why you do not know that?" the California Democrat pressed on.

"The research capabilities of thousands of researchers is something that we are just continuing to run down," Caruso said.

"I know it's an unsatisfactory answer and unsatisfying to us as well."

FBI investigators have been working on more than 1,000 leads, including about 100 directing them overseas, in their probe of mailings containing anthrax spores that have been sent to prominent members of the media and the US Congress, according to bureau director Robert Mueller.

The anthrax outbreak, presumably triggered by the bacteria-laced letters, has resulted in 17 confirmed cases of the disease and five suspected infections, according to the latest account by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The FBI's admission of a lack of progress in the anthrax probe has left many lawmakers stunned and frustrated.

Republican Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama called the situation "very unsatisfactory."

"We should know!" he said after the hearing. "We should know what things are about, where they are, how deadly they are, who's got them in their possession."

Feinstein said she would introduce legislation yesterday that would make it illegal for individuals to possess 40 deadly pathogens, including anthrax.

Under the proposal, the estimated 500 US-based laboratories working with dangerous germs would have to obtain government certification while their employees would be asked to undergo background checks, the senator said.

Among the reasons that have prevented the FBI from moving ahead as fast as it wanted Caruso also mentioned the avalanche of hoaxes and false alarms that has befallen the bureau since the beginning of the crisis more than a month ago.

Since mid-September, the FBI has responded to approximately 7,089 suspicious anthrax letters, 950 incidents involving terrorist threats, and an estimated 29,331 telephone calls about suspicious packages, according to agency officials.

"Resources available to law enforcement for responding to the alleged threats ... are strained and stretched to capacity," Caruso complained.

As the subcommittee members vented their anger, special agents in biohazard suits began decontaminating the Senate Hart Office Building, closed since an anthrax-laced letter addressed to Senate Democratic Majority Leader Thomas Daschle was received there last month.

But the anthrax scare, which has long since spilled over US borders, was far from abating.

The deadly bacteria has been discovered in a State Department mailbag sent to the US consulate in the central Russian city of Yekaterinburg, the consulate announced Tuesday.
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