Report: Researcher Ordered Anthrax Study

— -- Report: Anthrax by Mail Study Launched by Researcher

F O R T D E T R I C K, Md., June 27 — A biodefense researcher whose home was searched by FBI agents commissioned a 1999 study depicting ahypothetical anthrax attack by mail, The (Baltimore) Sun reportedtoday.

The study was commissioned by Dr. Steven J. Hatfill, 48, whilehe was working in McLean, Va., for defense contractor ScienceApplications International Corp., the newspaper said.

The study was written by bioterrorism expert William C. PatrickIII and describes placing 2.5 grams of Bacillus globigii, ananthrax simulant, in a standard business envelope, according to theSun.

The newspaper said portions of the study were read to it by aperson who has a copy.

A telephone message by The Associated Press left today for anFBI spokesman in Washington was not immediately returned.

Hatfill's telephone at the Detrick Plaza Apartments has beendisconnected and nobody answered a knock on the door Wednesday byan Associated Press reporter.

Authorities said Hatfill volunteered to have the apartmentsearched to clear his name.

Hatfill has denied involvement in the anthrax mailings,complaining to The Sun in a March telephone message that he hadbeen fired from the defense contractor and blaming news mediainquiries.

"I've been in this field for a number of years, working until 3o'clock in the morning, trying to counter this type of weapon ofmass destruction, and, sir, my career is over at this time,"Hatfill said.

Hatfill worked in the virology division of the U.S. Army MedicalInstitute of Infectious Disease at Fort Detrick, base spokesmanChuck Dasey said. He worked for two years at the institute on afellowship from the National Research Council, Dasey said.

He stopped working at Fort Detrick in September 1999 and wasemployed by Science Applications until March 4.

The Sun said Hatfill was dismissed after his Defense Departmentsecurity clearance was suspended on Aug. 23. Ben Haddad, spokesmanfor the defense contractor, said Wednesday he couldn't comment onthe report.

Although Hatfill likely had access to anthrax in labs sharedwith bacteriology researchers, his primary duties didn't involveworking with anthrax, Dasey said.

Five people died in the anthrax attacks that began in lateSeptember.

—The Associated Press

FAA Bans Flights Near 3 Landmarks

W A S H I N G T O N, June 27 —The Federal Aviation Administration is banningflights near the Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore and the St.Louis Gateway Arch during the July 4 holidays.

The FAA prohibition on flights near the Statue of Liberty beganTuesday. It will run through Sept. 30, banning all planes flyingunder 1,500 feet within a 6,000-foot radius of the landmark.

At Mount Rushmore, all planes flying under 10,000 feet above sealevel will be banned between 12:01 a.m. local time Wednesday to11:59 p.m. July 5, within a 4.5-mile radius.

In St. Louis, planes cannot fly lower than 3,000 feet from 12:01a.m. to 11:59 p.m. local time July 4 in a 3.4-mile radius aroundthe arch.

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, which representspilots of private planes, said the restrictions were issued becauseof concern about possible terrorist attacks over the IndependenceDay holiday.

FAA spokesman William Shumann said the bans were issued at therequest of the National Park Service.

The FAA had banned flights over the World Trade Center site inNew York City since Sept. 11, but removed the restrictions Tuesdaybecause the recovery work had finished, Shumann said.

The agency also has reminded pilots not to circle around orloiter over conventional power plants, nuclear plants, dams, oilrefineries, industrial complexes and similar facilities.

—The Associated Press

Pentagon Improves Response to Airborne Threat

W A S H I N G T O N, June 27 — The Pentagon can now respond more quickly to a potential airborne threat like the small plane that strayed offcourse and prompted a partial evacuation of the White House,Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Wednesday.

"One of the things that can be done is to reduce the responsetime by improving" coordination between the Defense Department andthe Federal Aviation Administration, Rumsfeld said when asked aboutlast week's incident.

The improved coordination is meant to reduce the response timeby a "modest number" of minutes, he said. "I think that we'vefound ways to do that," he added without elaborating.

Several months ago, Pentagon officials said they had improvedlinkages between military and FAA domestic radars, and that thislessened the need for round-the-clock fighter air patrols overWashington and New York.

The single-engine Cessna 182 that caused a momentary fright atthe White House last week came as close as four miles from theexecutive mansion, violating an expanded no-fly zone establishedafter the Sept. 11 attack on the Pentagon.

Air Force F-16s were scrambled to intercept the plane, which wasflying from Massachusetts to North Carolina. The fighter jets didnot catch up to the Cessna pilot until 11 minutes after he had leftthe restricted space on his own. By then, he was nearFredericksburg, Va.

Rumsfeld said the problem of defending against surprise airattacks is under constant review.

In addition to improved coordination with the FAA, the Pentagonis engaged in "random activities" as a means of deterring suchattacks, Rumsfeld said without elaborating. He appeared to bereferring to random air patrols flown over various parts of thecountry by Air Force F-16s and F-15s.

"We feel pretty good about the level of response and the levelof capability that we currently have," he said.

Rumsfeld was asked whether the government might resumeround-the-clock air patrols over Washington.

"We wouldn't discuss it if we did," he said.

Appearing with Rumsfeld at a Pentagon news conference, Gen.Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was askedwhether the Pentagon was adding anti-aircraft missiles to itsdefense system.

"It's all being looked at," Myers replied. "I think it'sreally inappropriate to go into detail on the specifics of thatbecause that would be the first step of figuring out how to counterit."

Myers said there are military personnel in a "radar approachfacility" in the Washington area that will "facilitate ourcommunications for some of these flights" like the wayward Cessna.He did not elaborate.

—The Associated Press

Town Near Flight 93 Crash Site Awaits Bush

S H A N K S V I L L E , Pa., June 27 — Ernie Stull is notthe kind of American who would criticize the president of theUnited States in a time of war.

But the 78-year-old mayor of Shanksville, a World War Twoveteran who was wounded during the Battle of the Bulge, cannothelp wonder why U.S. President George W. Bush has never been tothe site where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed on Sept. 11,just 2 miles outside this tiny rural borough.

"I realize he has been busy with things around the world.But it seems to me he could have found a couple of hours tocome up here," the white-haired Republican said during a recentinterview in his living room.

"We all find time to do what we have to do, what we want todo," he added.

The 245 residents of Shanksville, a bucolic hamlet on thebanks of the Stonycreek River, 70 miles southeast ofPittsburgh, became the unwitting guardians of a hallowedlandmark on Sept. 11 when Flight 93 plunged into a localreclaimed strip mine with enough force to rattle dishes intown.

All 44 people on board the hijacked Boeing 757 died in thecrash. But unlike the airliner attacks on New York's WorldTrade Center and the Pentagon near Washington, the stories ofFlight 93 proved to be one of the few uplifting chapters in anational nightmare.

That is because the 40 passengers and crew were the onlypeople that day who had the chance to fight back, mounting anapparent struggle with their four captors that brought theplane down 125 miles northwest of Washington withouthurting anyone on the ground.

But more than nine months later, the president, who visitedlower Manhattan and the Pentagon soon after Sept. 11, has yetto put in an appearance at the desolate field where countyauthorities say 92 percent of the remains of the passengers andcrew still abide, although in molecular form, in the soil andon the trees.

The White House says no presidential visit to the crashsite is planned for the foreseeable future.

"The president recognizes what Flight 93 meant to thepeople of Shanksville," said White House spokeswoman ClaireBuchan. "He also believes Flight 93 was a defining moment andthat the courage of the people of Flight 93 represents thespirit of America."

Buchan could not say why the president had not gone thereto see the site for himself.

The Rev. Ron Emery, pastor of the Shanksville UnitedMethodist Church, said the lack of visits by prominent leadersleft local people feeling dejected for a time.

That all changed when the senior class atShanksville-Stonycreek High School invited former New YorkMayor Rudolph Giuliani to speak at their commencement ceremonyon May 31, and he accepted.

Giuliani, who some say overshadowed Bush as a nationalfigure in the aftermath of Sept. 11, treated the students to arousing speech about courage and American identity and assuredhis rapt audience their tiny community was inextricably boundto New York and Washington.

"The fact that Giuliani took the time and made thatconnection, and that he was one of the more prominent figuresinvolved with 9/11, I think maybe that's the recognition theywere looking for," Emery said.

Local people have not given up on the president. Bush is on the invitation list for a memorial service thatSomerset County authorities are planning for the firstanniversary of the attacks.

—Reuters