Whereas the sponsorship of the anthrax attacks remain a mystery,
the attacker presumably gained knowledge about the
vulnerabilities of the United States. What would a hostile
state, especially one intent on developing a deterrent against
an American attack (or an American reprisal for 9/11), have
learned? A hostile state would have determined that: 1) The US
postal system is an effective delivery system for an anonymous
biological attack. Letters carrying dry anthrax spores can be
mailed to targeted buildings in America from any place in the
world. So a hostile state would not need to possess
intercontinental missiles or bombers to make such a threat
credible. 2) Anthrax can paralyze parts of the American economy,
even if does not inflict mass casualties, by closing down vital
buildings and communication links. The first anthrax delivery to
American Media in Florida demonstrated that when anthrax is not
identified by a warning letter, it is not likely to be
immediately identified or contained. (The time that