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FBI looking for a loner

"At this point and time there is no direct or clear linkage between this particular series of incidents and any terrorist cell or network."

An anonymous FBI official

The FBI said on Friday that one man in the US likely wrote three anthrax-tainted letters sent to media and government offices, calling him an "opportunist" who took advantage of the Sept. 11 attacks.

FBI officials stressed they had not ruled out that the person who sent the letters may belong to a foreign network like al-Qaeda, the group run by Saudi-born Osama bin Laden, who is blamed for the Sept. 11 suicide hijacked plane attacks on New York and Washington. Thousands were killed.

"We're not ruling anybody out but we're certainly looking in that direction now, in terms of someone being domestic," one FBI official said when asked if the suspect was US-based.

"He is likely a person living in the US who took advantage of Sept. 11. He is an opportunist and he took advantage," the official said, referring to the confusion and uncertainty that followed the September attacks.

"At this point and time there is no direct or clear linkage between this particular series of incidents and any terrorist cell or network," he said.

Later, Attorney General John Ashcroft said in a transcript of an interview to air on Friday night on CNN's Larry King Live that authorities did not have "a level of confidence that makes certain the fact that these are domestic."

"We still know that we're dealing with al-Qaeda," he added. "They have continued to express their desire that all Americans be killed and that people kill Americans."

FBI officials painted a picture, based on behavioral and linguistic studies of the letters, of the man they say was responsible for sending three anthrax-tainted letters -- one to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and two identical letters to the New York Post and NBC anchor Tom Brokaw.

The FBI has launched an investigation, code-named "Amerithrax" to find those behind germ warfare attacks that killed four people over the past two months. The Centers for Disease Control has confirmed 17 cases of anthrax, mostly connected to the US mail.

The FBI said it was "highly probable, bordering on certainty" that one person wrote all three letters.

Officials said the suspect is an adult male who might work in a laboratory who probably has a scientific background and is comfortable working with hazardous material like anthrax.

He was suspected of working alone, and was seen as a "loner" who spent most of his time by himself, the FBI said. He probably took antibiotics or was vaccinated against anthrax to ensure he did not contract the disease, officials added.

All three letters were copies of an original, and two of the letters -- the ones to the New York Post and NBC -- were exactly the same.

The officials noted an escalation in tone, and in the content of the anthrax contained in the letter to Daschle, which was postmarked exactly three weeks after the two letters to the media organizations.

"The anthrax utilized in [the Daschle letter] was much more refined, more potent, and more easily disbursed than letters [to the New York Post and NBC]," the FBI said.

The letter to Daschle said, "You die now" while the letters to the media organizations said, "Take penacilin [sic] now."

The FBI official said the man who wrote the letter likely knew how to spell penicillin, but misspelled it on purpose. They said the short letters -- which had a total of 39 words -- made it impossible to identify the nationality of the suspect.

The suspect had carefully selected his victims who might have been the focus of previous expressions of his contempt. A nonconfrontational person, the suspect was seen as someone who might hold grudges for a long time with vows to "get even."

All three letters were postmarked from Trenton, New Jersey and FBI officials said the man who sent them was familiar with the Trenton metropolitan area although he may not live there.

In Trenton on Friday four more postal facilities tested positive for anthrax. They were all served by the same mail-processing center that handled the anthrax-laden letters.

The FBI said the person who sent the letters had access to a source of anthrax, access to laboratory equipment and the knowledge and expertise to refine the deadly bacteria. Someone could manufacture anthrax with just US$2,500 worth of equipment, officials said.

The FBI said it was making information about the suspect public in hopes that someone might recognize the overall profile and be able to help identify the man to officials.

The briefing was arranged after the FBI encountered criticism from lawmakers earlier this week when officials admitted how little they know about the source of the anthrax letters and how massive the pool of potential suspects might possibly be.
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