“Senator Patrick J. Leahy, Democrat of Vermont, said today that the authorities should examine whether the spread of the West Nile virus in this country is a result of biological terrorism.”
-The New York Times, September 13, 2002
ON A VERMONT radio show last Thursday, Leahy offered these thoughts on the war on terrorism: “We have to ask ourselves: Is it coincidence that we’re seeing such an increase in West Nile virus, or is that something that’s being tested as a biological weapon against us?” He continued, “There are some people, credibly, who feel that it is a test of our defenses and is a biological weapon. . . .”
Leahy knows bioterrorism up-close–he was the addressee of an anthrax-laden letter last fall–but he later felt the need to clarify his remarks with a statement which read, in its entirety, “In the times in which we live, questions about our vulnerabilities are unavoidable, and finding all the answers we can is more important than ever. I have no way of knowing what the answers are, but some legitimate questions have been asked, especially before September 11 last year, and no doubt they are being asked anew by the agencies that are working on this.” In other words, he just has a bad feeling about this whole West Nile thing.
But does Leahy really have “no way of knowing” if terrorists are sending out strains of the West Nile virus to do their evil bidding?
A spokesman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that there is no evidence to suggest that the spread of the disease has anything to do with terrorism. “Our research up to this point has not indicated that this is anything other than a natural evolution” of a virus that follows the migratory pattern of mosquitoes and birds.
And a report issued in July 2000 by the minority staff of the Senate government affairs committee said that “law enforcement, public health, and intelligence officials have investigated the possibility that West Nile virus resulted from a bioterrorist attack but believe that this is very unlikely.”
Neither organization gave any indication they were “asking anew” if the introduction of the virus was a terrorist act.
Leahy has, of course, repeatedly and publicly urged George W. Bush to “make the case” for why Saddam is a threat because, on that score, he’s not yet convinced. The truth is out there.
Katherine Mangu-Ward is an editorial assistant at The Weekly Standard.
