The Secret Life Of Thomas Crooks - Part Ten

Don't Throw Stones From Glass Houses - Who Knows What Evil Lurks Under Foot

Beneath the running blood streams and soulless shoes of Thomas Crooks lays the secret of a two-decade war in Iraq, and even more amazingly, the secret is pure glass. The additive of extremely fine ground silicon dioxide was the critical X Factor in solving a sixty-year quest to make Anthrax work as a bioweapon. Silicon dioxide was also the key determinant in deciding to go to war with Saddam Hussein and in determining the guilt or innocence of the Fort Detrick scientist framed for the Anthrax attacks, Bruce Ivins.

https://www.nature.com/articles/news.2008.1137

You may remember that Ft. Detrick scientist Peter Jahrling saw Anthrax under his microscope right after the 9/11 Anthrax attacks and determined that Iraq had weaponized the Anthrax, justifying the War in Iraq even though the terrorists were from Afghanistan.

https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/2001_anthrax_attacks

You may remember me going to the lab where Peter Jahrling worked at the University of Texas Medical Branch and pointing out he had hidden there after he recanted his testimony seven years after the 9/11 Anthrax Attacks. You may also remember that I asked his nephew, who still works at UTMB in Galveston, Texas, to visit the Quad to review the evidence. Jordan Jahrling did not take me up on the offer of proof.

You may also recall I went to Legislature in Austin, Texas, at the Texas State Capitol to inform them that UTMB was the key lab working with the Wuhan Institute of Virology in a ten-year-long program to develop CoronaVirus that would infect humans from bats. You may also remember that UTMB did the leak prevention training before the Wuhan “Lab Leak.”

Who knew very finely grounded and very pure glass would be the key to solving the problem of clumping Anthrax, an issue that has vexed bioweapons engineers for six decades? Who knew the extremely finely ground glass would determine if America would go to war in Iraq for twenty years? Ft. Detrick scientist Peter Jahrling’s “honest mistake” would lead to twenty years of war with Saddam Hussein and Iraq.

https://www.justice.gov/archive/amerithrax/docs/amx-investigative-summary.pdf

Silicon dioxide, extremely pure silicon dioxide, was the telltale sign that allowed Jahlring to make the call for war and then recant his diagnosis seven years later.

Yes, glass, simple silicon dioxide, SiO2, turned out to be the dispersal agent that made the bioweapons dreams of three generations of bioweaponeers come true. And silicon dioxide in the weaponizing material that Ft. Detrick scientist Peter Jahrling called out to determine that Saddam Hussein may have had a hand in the 9/11 Anthrax attacks, leading America to go to war with Iraq.

Peter Jahrling spoke at Ft. Detrick in 2003 about working with Russian scientists on countermeasures for Soviet bioweapons.

https://www.c-span.org/video/?177403-1/biological-defense-security (One hour, seven minute mark)

And the young Soviet scientist who figured out the secret of dispersing Anthrax, Ken Alibek, rockets to the top of the Soviet Union’s massive bioweapons Cold War infrastructure for his “just add glass” innovation.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1999/07/12/smallpox-vaccination-the-demon-in-the-freezer

Warheads carrying anthrax with glass as a dispersal agent don’t need refrigeration systems that throw their trajectory off course. Ken Alibeck had the glass answer to six decades of struggle to make the Anthrax bioweapon stable for weaponization by ICBM.

For six decades, the United States, the Soviet Union, Britain, France, and Germany had all tried to solve the “Anthrax dispersal” problem, spending millions on hundreds of different formulations to keep Anthrax breathable by humans and not clumping up to that the upper respiratory tract mucus defended the lungs from the airborne anthrax spores.

Alibek ran a thirty-thousand-scientist organization called BioPreparat, primarily from this breakthrough discovery. Who knew he would be the man to give the secret of Anthrax to Saddam Hussein and provide the predicate for Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney to overthrow Iraq.

Even more stunningly, Ken Alibek would join Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney in the world of Free Enterprise when he “defected” to the United States, starting an Anthrax countermeasures company called Hadron (formerly BioRad) in Alexandria, Virginia.

Alibek just needed an extremely pure glass grinder, and he found that pure glass at American Glass Research in Butler, Pennsylvania, now made famous by the attempted Trump Assassination.

The American Glass Research Building, the most engaged in Department of Defense work, and AGR has been for eighty years for bulletproof glass, is the furthest building from the front of AGR, Building 6.

Did this remarkable coincidence happen by accident or on purpose? Well, now all the DoD secrets of the last eighty years belong to the FBI and DHS because AGR Building Six is a top-secret crime scene. Eighty years of Top-Secret glass research, including jet canopies and Space Shuttle glass, are included—some coincidence.

For the full article on “Anthrax Glass,” click here on my Anthrax Substack at gwebb.substack.com.

Sources -

The Role of Silicon Dioxide in Anthrax Weaponization: Unveiling a Two-Decade War Secret

Author: George Webb
Date: September 20, 2024

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Abstract

The use of finely ground silicon dioxide has been pivotal in enhancing the dispersal capabilities of anthrax spores, significantly impacting bioweapon development over the past several decades. This article explores the historical context of silicon dioxide's role in anthrax weaponization, its implications in the decision to go to war with Iraq, and the controversies surrounding key scientists involved in bioweapons research.

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Introduction

The anthrax attacks following September 11, 2001, thrust bioterrorism into the global spotlight. Letters containing anthrax spores were sent to media outlets and U.S. Senators, leading to five deaths and widespread fear [1]. The presence of silicon compounds in the anthrax samples raised questions about weaponization techniques and potential state-sponsored involvement [2].

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Silicon Dioxide as a Dispersal Agent

Silicon dioxide (SiO₂), when finely ground, prevents anthrax spores from clumping, enhancing their ability to become airborne and inhaled [3]. This addresses a long-standing challenge in bioweapons engineering: maintaining spore stability for maximum dispersal [4].

Historical Attempts at Anthrax Weaponization

For decades, nations like the United States, the Soviet Union, and others attempted to perfect anthrax as a bioweapon [5]. The addition of silicon-based additives emerged as a solution to improve spore dispersal and lethality [6].

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Implications for the Iraq War

Initial Assessments Post-9/11

Early analyses suggested that the anthrax used in the 2001 attacks contained silicon, hinting at sophisticated weaponization possibly linked to Iraq's alleged biological weapons program [7]. This speculation contributed to the narrative that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) [8].

Dr. Peter Jahrling's Observations

Dr. Peter Jahrling, a senior scientist at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), initially noted unusual properties in the anthrax samples [9]. However, subsequent studies revealed that the silicon was naturally occurring within the spores, not an additive [10].

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Revisiting the Anthrax Attacks

The Case of Bruce Ivins

Microbiologist Bruce Ivins became the FBI's prime suspect in the anthrax attacks [11]. Before his death in 2008, Ivins worked at USAMRIID, where he had access to anthrax spores [12]. The Department of Justice concluded that Ivins acted alone, although some experts questioned the evidence [13].

Debates Over Weaponization

Further investigations showed that the silicon detected was not deliberately added to weaponize the spores [14]. A National Academy of Sciences report concluded that the silicon was a natural component of the bacterial spores [15].

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Ken Alibek and Soviet Bioweapons Research

Defection and Disclosure

Dr. Ken Alibek, formerly Kanatjan Alibekov, was the deputy director of the Soviet Union's bioweapons program, Biopreparat [16]. After defecting to the United States in 1992, he provided extensive insights into Soviet bioweapons capabilities [17].

Contributions to U.S. Biodefense

In the U.S., Alibek contributed to biodefense research and academia [18]. He co-founded Hadron Advanced Biosystems, focusing on medical countermeasures against biological threats [19].

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University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) Collaborations

Research Initiatives

UTMB in Galveston has been involved in significant infectious disease research, including collaborations on coronaviruses [20]. The Galveston National Laboratory, a part of UTMB, is one of the few Biosafety Level 4 labs in the United States [21].

International Collaborations

UTMB has collaborated internationally to advance understanding of emerging infectious diseases [22]. Claims linking UTMB directly to the Wuhan Institute of Virology in developing human-infecting coronaviruses lack substantiated evidence [23].

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American Glass Research and Bioweapons Allegations

Allegations connecting American Glass Research in Butler, Pennsylvania, to bioweapons development or political assassination attempts are not supported by credible sources [24]. No official reports or verified investigations corroborate these claims.

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Conclusion

The presence of silicon in anthrax spores after the 2001 attacks initially raised concerns about advanced weaponization and potential foreign involvement. However, thorough investigations clarified that the silicon was naturally occurring, not a result of deliberate enhancement. The complexities surrounding bioweapons research underscore the necessity for accurate scientific analysis in informing policy decisions.

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References

1. Jernigan, J. A., et al. (2002). Investigation of bioterrorism-related anthrax, United States, 2001: Epidemiologic findings. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 8(10), 1019-1028.

2. Meselson, M. (2001). The anthrax attacks: A bioterrorism expert's view. Harvard Magazine.

3. Inglesby, T. V., et al. (2002). Anthrax as a biological weapon, 2002: Updated recommendations. JAMA, 287(17), 2236-2252.

4. Alibek, K., & Handelman, S. (1999). Biohazard. Random House.

5. Leitenberg, M. (2001). Biological weapons in the twentieth century: A review and analysis. Critical Reviews in Microbiology, 27(4), 267-320.

6. Wheelis, M., & Rózsa, L. (2006). Deadly cultures: Biological weapons since 1945. Harvard University Press.

7. Guillemin, J. (2005). Biological Weapons: From the Invention of State-Sponsored Programs to Contemporary Bioterrorism. Columbia University Press.

8. Tenet, G. (2007). At the Center of the Storm: My Years at the CIA. HarperCollins.

9. Broad, W. J., & Miller, J. (2001). A nation challenged: The spores; new studies disagree on what weaponized anthrax could reveal. The New York Times.

10. National Research Council. (2011). Review of the Scientific Approaches Used During the FBI's Investigation of the 2001 Anthrax Letters. The National Academies Press.

11. Shane, S., & Lipton, E. (2008). Scientist is paid millions by U.S. in anthrax suit. The New York Times.

12. Willman, D. (2011). The Mirage Man: Bruce Ivins, the Anthrax Attacks, and America's Rush to War. Bantam.

13. GAO. (2014). Anthrax: Agency Approaches to Validation and Statistical Analyses Could Be Improved. U.S. Government Accountability Office.

14. Weiss, R. (2002). Silicon mystery endures in anthrax case. The Washington Post.

15. National Academy of Sciences. (2011). Review of the Scientific Approaches Used During the FBI's Investigation of the 2001 Anthrax Letters. The National Academies Press.

16. Alibek, K., & Handelman, S. (1999). Biohazard. Random House.

17. Miller, J., Engelberg, S., & Broad, W. J. (2002). Germs: Biological Weapons and America's Secret War. Simon & Schuster.

18. George Mason University. (n.d.). Faculty profile: Ken Alibek.

19. Hadron Advanced Biosystems. (n.d.). Company overview.

20. UTMB Newsroom. (2020). UTMB researchers are leading the fight against COVID-19.

21. Galveston National Laboratory. (n.d.). About the GNL.

22. Wang, N., et al. (2018). Serological evidence of bat SARS-related coronavirus infection in humans, China. Virologica Sinica, 33(1), 104-107.

23. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). Information on the origin of the virus that causes COVID-19.

24. No credible sources available that link American Glass Research to bioweapons or assassination attempts.