Were plague deaths the result of botched bioweapons experiments?
posted at 9:10 am on January 20, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
Yesterday, I cautioned readers to take the report from The Sun about plague deaths among al-Qaeda terrorists with considerable skepticism, both because of the source and the rare nature of the disease. The Washington Times, with considerably more credibility, picks up the thread and posits a plausible explanation — that AQ attempted to create a biological weapon that infected its own crew by mistake:
An al Qaeda affiliate in Algeria closed a base earlier this month after an experiment with unconventional weapons went awry, a senior U.S. intelligence official said Monday.
The official, who spoke on the condition he not be named because of the sensitive nature of the issue, said he could not confirm press reports that the accident killed at least 40 al Qaeda operatives, but he said the mishap led the militant group to shut down a base in the mountains of Tizi Ouzou province in eastern Algeria.
He said authorities in the first week of January intercepted an urgent communication between the leadership of al Qaeda in the Land of the Maghreb (AQIM) and al Qaeda’s leadership in the tribal region of Pakistan on the border with Afghanistan. The communication suggested that an area sealed to prevent leakage of a biological or chemical substance had been breached, according to the official.
“We don’t know if this is biological or chemical,” the official said.
The story was first reported by the British tabloid the Sun, which said the al Qaeda operatives died after being infected with a strain of bubonic plague, the disease that killed a third of Europe’s population in the 14th century. But the intelligence official dismissed that claim.
I’m not sure why they would “dismiss” the claim when they themselves don’t know enough to say whether the breach was biological or chemical. Perhaps they have intel on specific strains of disease that AQ has accessed, or maybe they just know more than the WT source wants to say specifically. It gives further corroboration to The Sun’s report, and strongly indicates something went wrong in Tizi Ouzou.
No one will be surprised to hear that AQ has been playing with either biological or chemical weapons, or both. They have tried for at least ten years to develop some kind of WMD that would allow AQ cells to terrorize large populations with a minimum of personnel. Chemical weapons would probably work better, as they would be somewhat easier to contain and control, especially in the rough environments in which AQ works. Most of their efforts take place in areas where clean rooms and laboratory controls can’t exist.
If these reports about Tizi Ouzou are correct, AQ has managed to kill more of their own people in one shot than they have of infidels in quite some time. If they’ve contaminated one of the safe locations, so much the better.
Blowback
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While I’m not feeling awfully badly for the AQ folks, I do worry some that such a devastating disease has reappeared.
jeanie on January 20, 2009 at 9:17 AM
AS I AM FORCING MYSELF TO WATCH THE TRAIN WRECK THAT IS THE COVERAGE I NOTICED AS THE OBAMAS WERE WALKING INTO ST.JOHN’S>>>>>>>>>>>>
MICHELLE IS WEARING BODY ARMOR.
She has a very small upper body in relation to her big backside, and as a woman, I know how clothes are meant to hide flaws. There is a noticeable RIDGE around her back braline >>>>>body armor.
NO WONDER THEY WERE SO LATE COMING OUT. That stuff takes some WORK to get into. Especially for a WOMAN WHO IS HESITANT TO WEAR IT.
GOD BLESS AMERICA. PEACE BE WITH THEM. WITH US ALL.
seejanemom on January 20, 2009 at 9:19 AM
Juastice served at their own hands. Ironic.
volsense on January 20, 2009 at 9:19 AM
You’d have to ask if the plague would be the best choice, since it is treatable with existing antibiotics…
Canadian Imperialist Running Dog on January 20, 2009 at 9:19 AM
I reposted comment above (so SAVE the slings)because the footballl fans on the other thread are too into football….and good on them….we will all need SOMETHING to take our minds off the coming FOUR YEAR CIRCUS.
seejanemom on January 20, 2009 at 9:21 AM
BWAAAAAA! Idiots living in the 3rd Century hoisted by their own petard!
sabbott on January 20, 2009 at 9:21 AM
So just how much antibiotics do we have on hand for a mass infection?
grapeknutz on January 20, 2009 at 9:22 AM
jeanie,
“I do worry some that such a devastating disease has reappeared.”
It’s never gone away; there are periodic outbreaks.
exhelodrvr on January 20, 2009 at 9:22 AM
Someone is bound to learn from their mistakes. Not good
blatantblue on January 20, 2009 at 9:23 AM
This is just a little reminder that “they” are still planning “death to the infidels.” It’s easy to get complacent when nothing happens here.
…and we’d be even safer without the traitors at the NY Times.
perroviejo on January 20, 2009 at 9:23 AM
Exactly why Bush was right to bring the fight to the enemy.
We don’t want them over here making shtoopid blunders like this!
Miss ya already Pres. Bush!
katy on January 20, 2009 at 9:25 AM
Let’s hope that this was a botched wmd program that the terrorists were working on and not a inauguration gift for President Elect Obama.
Delta Wild Man on January 20, 2009 at 9:25 AM
This is troubling. If this is confirmed, then it is only a matter of time until there are attacks using this or something similar. There is no possible way to stop every attack and that they are experimenting with something so deadly – eventually they will succeed.
Oh, wait a minute . . . I have seen five minutes of news this morning while trying to determine if my daughters had school or not (winter storm warning) and after seeing the Obamagasm – He will save us. Obama will make everything alright. No one would even want to attack us now anyway. Free money, free food, no more sickness, no more work! Everything is going to be okay – Obama will take care of us!
I don’t know which is more troubling – AQ with biological weapons or that we have such a large number of ignorant, naive people in this country.
Buy gold and guns!
King of the Britons on January 20, 2009 at 9:25 AM
fixed!
grapeknutz on January 20, 2009 at 9:26 AM
They just need someone to talk to.
artist on January 20, 2009 at 9:28 AM
Was always told that the Islamic terrorists wanted to take us back to the 13th century.
Tommy_G on January 20, 2009 at 9:28 AM
I do not mourn for those who wish me death.
But I have great concern that they were able to manufacture their weapon to the degree that they did.
They will not be the last to attempt this.
I hope this is item number one in tomorrow’s security briefing with Mr. Obama.
turfmann on January 20, 2009 at 9:28 AM
*gong* Bring out yer dead.
mram on January 20, 2009 at 9:29 AM
I felt a song in my heart today that I wanted to share with my HotAir friends. I hope-n-change you like it…
“If tomorrow all the things were gone I’d worked for all my life,” (actually happens today at 12:01pm)
“And I had to start again, with just my children and my wife.” (foreclosures, high unemployment, massive taxes)
“I’d thank my lucky stars to be living here today,” (today yes, tomorrow?)
“Where the flag still stands for freedom,” (changes 12:01pm 1/20/2009, Bill Ayers)
“And they can’t take that away.” (fairness doctrine, gay marriage, living Constitution, radicals on the Courts)
“And I’m proud to be an American,” (“I’ve never been proud of my Country”, 1st Lady Obamamomma)
“Where at least I know I’m free.” (to pay higher taxes, send my kids to failing schools, forced to join a union)
“Where I won’t forget the men who died,” (”The war is lost”, “Or troops are raiding villages and killing civilians”, “the Surge is a failure”, “Bush lied, people died”)
“Who gave that right to me.” (Gitmo to close, terrorists to go free, pre-9/11 mentality returns)
“And I’d gladly stand up, next to you,” (openly gays in the military, defense spending cuts)
“And defend her still today.” (The Bill of Rights, The Constitution, 2nd Amendment rights)
“Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land.” (actually not sure BHO was even born here, but he is his babies Daddy)
“God bless the USA!” (can we still say God? can’t in schools, parks, public buildings)
Wow, I can’t wait till I have more time to work on the second verse… My creative juices are flowing, much like the stream coursing down Chris Matthews’s leg. It must be all the good vibes and kumbiyah feelings emanating from DC today. But… But… Wait… Hold on…. I feel… I feel…
Sorry, never mind, it was just a gas pain…
Mark Garnett on January 20, 2009 at 9:29 AM
Perhaps A.Q. wanted to use it in D.C. TODAY as all those brain dead celebrity worshippers gather to see their new god-king take his thrown.
Either way, I HOPE! it’s true that 40 of them are dead. HOPEfully their top scientists are all wiped out.
Tony737 on January 20, 2009 at 9:37 AM
Sorta ironic that the same savages who long for a return to the old days got themselves killed by an ancient scourge.
Bishop on January 20, 2009 at 9:38 AM
I am quite sure that the incoming obama administration will be right on this…..
- after they get gays in the military
- after they dismantle gitmo and free the inmates
- after they prosecute the bush admin
- after they implement socialized medicine
- after they confiscate our guns
- after they implement stringent hate crimes legislation
- after they get rid of our nukes
- after they get rid of talk radio
- after they load the supreme court with leninists
Yep, they will be right on it. Don’t rush them. They have PRIORITIES you know….
bullseye on January 20, 2009 at 9:39 AM
Okay, time for the harder and more responsible question: How do we even try to decontaminate the site. That’s worse than a minefield. At least with a minefield, when it blows up and kills you the people around you know what happened.
njcommuter on January 20, 2009 at 9:40 AM
oooooops! throne
Tony737 on January 20, 2009 at 9:40 AM
You know, this new story doesn’t make sense. There is effective and readily available treatment for Bubonic plague. Cheap antibiotics. These terrorists are stupid, but I can’t beleive they are that stupid! Would it have been too much for their leaders to have a little antibiotic laying around in case there was a breach? Maybe it was one of the good guys that used the plague against them?
bloggless on January 20, 2009 at 9:41 AM
Now if only AQ would believe that this “disease” will carry over to the land of 72 infected virgins…….
Rovin on January 20, 2009 at 9:43 AM
How do we even try to decontaminate the site.
JDAMs
Tony737 on January 20, 2009 at 9:43 AM
I am sure the CIA can send them a manual to “help” them develop even better bio-weapons. “Nudge, Nudge, Wink, Wink” – know what I mean? know what I mean?
izoneguy on January 20, 2009 at 9:43 AM
Mama always said, “Stupid is as stupid does.”
This was kind of like the election results…Be careful what you ask for because you might just get it.
The little incident might be just one of the reasons Barry asked Sec. Gates to stick around.
kingsjester on January 20, 2009 at 9:44 AM
Genetically modified strains???
Also, I wonder if there was anyone who travelled out of the camp in an infected state. Hopefully someone had satellite cameras on the place.
bullseye on January 20, 2009 at 9:45 AM
Maybe we sent them a candygram.
fogw on January 20, 2009 at 9:46 AM
If you’re in a cave, you may not have a lot of anti-biotics around. And… if I’m not mistaken the Bubonic Plague is a virus. Anti’s are ineffective.
katy on January 20, 2009 at 9:46 AM
Yes, the traitors who should be tried for treason. After Obama, we need to enforce the laws about treason if possible.
thuja on January 20, 2009 at 9:47 AM
I cant wait till the 2nd verse. *clapping hands*
becki51758 on January 20, 2009 at 9:47 AM
http://www.riehlworldview.com/carnivorous_conservative/2009/01/bioweapon-gone-wrong-killed-algerian-terrorists.html
http://patterico.com/2009/01/19/al-qaeda-news/
Algerian Al Qaeda playing with chem or bio weapons, I feel so much better now about the future…or not.
We are going to find we are going to miss George W. Bush being around. And Obama is going to find a lot of what he did was the correct thing to do.
Mr. Joe on January 20, 2009 at 9:48 AM
No, it is caused by a bacterium and is readily treated by antibiotics. Something stinks in Denmark.
bloggless on January 20, 2009 at 9:49 AM
Like your name tag
King of the Britons on January 20, 2009 at 9:25 AM
[Angelic music plays... ]
Don’t know if that is where you are pulling your tag,but I
love Monty Python.
This is a very troubling event.
The world knows we are now led by a pacifist and Israel is bearing this out by taking on Hamas using the last days of Bush for a time table.
The terrorist have not and will not rest.
The Party that is in control now believes “There is no terrorist threat” and “Iran and N.Korea are just tiny threats” .
They think “smart power” is sitting down and talking to people who want nothing more than your total destruction.
They have nothing in history to show that appeasement has ever worked in dealing with terrorist and dictators.
Unfortunately the Bush Administration has been so successful against terrorism that it has turned into a back shelf issue.
With this type of idiocy in leadership,it will probably not be long before it becomes front and center again.
Baxter Greene on January 20, 2009 at 9:49 AM
I think bubonic plague is bacterial. But plague is not something you would expect to be endemic in Algeria (it is something that you would expect more in Pakistan and Afghanistan). Which is why the suggestion of Al Qaeda playing Mr. Scientist with bio or chem weapons again is so disturbing.
Mr. Joe on January 20, 2009 at 9:52 AM
A++
Mark Garnett on January 20, 2009 at 9:52 AM
JDAMS might just spread it around. Napalm.
DarkCurrent on January 20, 2009 at 9:53 AM
The quoted exchange is the EXACT place I derive my tag.
King of the Britons on January 20, 2009 at 9:53 AM
Like the confederates of Bill Ayers. Recall his weather underground terrorist BFF’s blew themselves up while building a bomb.
Ayers of course went on to become a noted professor and close friend of the future pres of the United States.
FireBlogger on January 20, 2009 at 9:53 AM
Relocate the Gitmo guys there after they are released. Let THEM figure it out.
Laura in Maryland on January 20, 2009 at 9:54 AM
Working on it… Or as The Messiah says, “Yes we can!”
Mark Garnett on January 20, 2009 at 9:55 AM
And drop them some napalm to help.
DarkCurrent on January 20, 2009 at 9:56 AM
Bingo. AQ still plots for massive loss of life, but the left won’t believe it and is doing their level best to writeoff the NYC/DC attacks as isolated incidents.
Mark30339 on January 20, 2009 at 9:56 AM
Is it possible they got it the old fashioned way? From rodents via fleas? Heh. Lie down with AQ, wake up with the fleas, or something.
bitsy on January 20, 2009 at 9:56 AM
Did you notice how everyone else in Obamaland is up to their ears in scandal, but when it come to the king; “He’s the only one who ‘asn’t got $#!+ all over ‘im”.
You’ve introduced the perfect parallel. We can have a lot of fun with this.
Laura in Maryland on January 20, 2009 at 10:00 AM
What style and class.
Now we get to see the “Brave Sir Robin” being sworn in
and installing his great cabinet “The People’s front of Judea”.
Baxter Greene on January 20, 2009 at 10:01 AM
I’m not surprised in the least since radical Muslims have been at the forefront of biological warfare since the beginning. At Kaffa/Caffa (a former Genoese port city on the Black Sea) in 1346 the Golden Horde initiated what was probably the first recorded instance of biological warfare by hurling plague infected bodies with catapults over the walls.
That siege led to the evacuation of infected Genoese sailors (who were carrying plague rats on their ships by this point) who returned home to ta-dah, Italy. As we all know the Black death began its rampage across Europe in Italy and more specifically, Genoa.
So if you want to blame anybody for the Black Death, look no further than militant Islam for the death of 2/3rds of Europe. I’m sure they would take credit for it if they knew/could take full credit.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol8no9/01-0536.htm
darclon on January 20, 2009 at 10:01 AM
If true, this is not good. These guys will flee to places where innocent populations abound, including possibly their own families. If they are a bit smarter, they might try to get into Christian Europe (if you can still call it that), and infect some innocents there.
unclesmrgol on January 20, 2009 at 10:01 AM
Schadenfreuderiffic as it is, but anyone concerned that this may be the start of a greater outbreak. I mean if it was a bio-weapon that they got a hold of, it’s going to take more than NyQuil to fix.
- The Cat
MirCat on January 20, 2009 at 10:02 AM
You are exactly right.
But this honeymoon will not last.
The press and Obama’s following of sheep have glossed over so much to get him elected that when the circle is complete,they will be looking like ship of fools.
Obama has sold out to to many people,made to many promises he can’t keep,and is involved with to many corrupt people and radicals to maintain this “teflon” image.
Blago,Rezko,Ayers,Rev. Wright,promises to far left groups,cabinet members already having to step down,Rangel,Jefferson,and Dodd are just the beginning.
Combine this with keeping troops in Iraq,wanting to raise taxs and increase spending during a recession,no free health care,keeping many of Bush’s policies(angering his left wing base),and having to actually address and make important decisions instead of fancy speeches will have a lot of people standing around staring up at the sky whining “what happened to my Hope and Change”.
Reality is going to suck for Obama and his sheep.
Baxter Greene on January 20, 2009 at 10:11 AM
We don’t. It’s the Algerians’ problem. That’s what they get for letting AQ set up camps in their country in the first place.
AZCoyote on January 20, 2009 at 10:11 AM
You know that if this happened to us, they would see it as a theodicy.
Tzetzes on January 20, 2009 at 10:15 AM
I kinda hope more of those pigs catch the plague. They deserve it.
becki51758 on January 20, 2009 at 10:17 AM
Obama’s first cabinet meeting:
“YES WE CAN” oh..no..wait.
on second thought
“NO WE CAN’T”,but I am very clean and speak very well.
Baxter Greene on January 20, 2009 at 10:18 AM
Small tactical nuke maybe, just wishing out loud here…
Mark Garnett on January 20, 2009 at 10:19 AM
On the plus side, AQ doesn’t have the expertise or the lab space to work with chem/biological weapons. On the negative side, they’re still trying. And where would they get such stuff to begin with: Iran? Russia (either from Putin or some rogue general?) Perhaps Libya had some “leftovers” when they handed their WMD program over to US & Britain.
Perhaps this intel is why Dear Leader is keeping Gates on, which would be to His credit.
rbj on January 20, 2009 at 10:22 AM
Meh. As long as they’re dead, it really doesn’t matter how or why.
Jaibones on January 20, 2009 at 10:26 AM
Obama may have expectations set a little bit high:
Obama to the crowd at his swearing in:
Brian: I’m not the Messiah! Will you please listen? I am not the Messiah, do you understand? Honestly!
Girl: Only the true Messiah denies His divinity.
Brian: What? Well, what sort of chance does that give me? All right! I am the Messiah!
Followers: He is! He is the Messiah!
Brian: Now, fu#k off!
[silence]
Arthur: How shall we fu#k off, O Lord?
There will be peace on Earth after today right?
Baxter Greene on January 20, 2009 at 10:27 AM
Obama’s selection process for his cabinet:
Reg: If you want to join the People’s Front of Judea, you have to really hate the Romans(Bush).
Brian: I do!
Reg: Oh yeah, how much?
Brian: A lot!
Reg: Right, you’re in.
It has got to be that easy,Joe”I can’t spell”Biden is VP for crying out loud.
Baxter Greene on January 20, 2009 at 10:29 AM
I am gonna have to kind of disagree with you on this one. . .
These people are securely ensconced in their fantasy. . . ANY problem encountered will be squarely blamed on Bush and that story will be pushed and pushed hard by the media. There will never be a wholesale come-to-Jesus epiphony by these people. Sad, but true.
King of the Britons on January 20, 2009 at 10:29 AM
Prescription: A petite tactical thermonuclear bomb, taken rectally once daily in Waziristan until symptoms dissipate.
moxie_neanderthal on January 20, 2009 at 10:36 AM
Obama’s negotiations with Iran:
Judith: [on Stan's desire to be a mother] Here! I’ve got an idea: Suppose you agree that he can’t actually have babies(Nuclear Weapons), not having a womb – which is nobody’s fault, not even the Romans’(Bush) – but that he can have the *right* to have babies(Nuclear Weapons).
Francis: Good idea, Judith. We shall fight the oppressors for your right to have babies(Nuclear Weapons), brother… sister, sorry.
Reg: What’s the *point*?
Francis: What?
Reg: What’s the point of fighting for his right to have babies(Nuclear Weapons), when he can’t have babies(Nuclear Weapons)?
Francis: It is symbolic of our struggle against oppression.
Reg: It’s symbolic of his struggle against reality.
Sticks and Carrots baby,Sticks and Carrots.
Maybe they will give Ahmadinejad a basketball to,it worked so well with N. Korea.
No rush though,Iran is just a “Tiny” threat.
Baxter Greene on January 20, 2009 at 10:38 AM
There are pockets of plaque all over the world. New Mexico is one. It experiences a dozen or so plaque cases each year with very few fatalities. Albert Camus wrote a novel of a plaque outbreak in Algeria in the 20th Century.
For unknown reasons, plaque bearing animals occasionally migrate from the remote areas they inhabitant, carrying their fleas into population centers. The worst outbreaks occurred in the 1300s in Europe at a time when the population had been severely weakened due to famines. They had experienced a dozen years of crop failures caused by excessive rains at the start of the last major global cooling.
FYI: I do believe that an Islamic Fundamentalist would be most nostalgic for the 7th Century.
Laurence on January 20, 2009 at 10:41 AM
Why would AQ develop their own biological or chemical weapons when they can buy some from Russia at a relatively cheap price?
Cr4sh Dummy on January 20, 2009 at 10:41 AM
You may very well be right.
I know that they will get away with the “Blame Bush” theme for about 4-6 more months,but having Obama’s face on the television day after day(and not Bush’s) will eventually associate him with the events on the ground no matter how much the press covers for him.
This combined with the many broken promises and an electorate that thinks it will not have to pay their mortgage and gas bill will eventual turn on him.
I know liberals have done a good job of message control and tearing Bush apart(Bush helped by not fighting back),but the expectations of Obama are so great and his abilities are so minimal,that I think they are bound to collide and expose him for the poser he is at some point.
Baxter Greene on January 20, 2009 at 10:44 AM
Like we say in Texas, come and take it.
Johan Klaus on January 20, 2009 at 10:45 AM
Not to worry. Today, the earth will begin to heal, the oceans will start to fall and we’ll FINALLY start caring for our sick. I’m sure Barack Obama could do away with the plaque, simply with a wave of his hand.
Star20 on January 20, 2009 at 10:46 AM
We can only hope?
Johan Klaus on January 20, 2009 at 10:50 AM
This is a non partisan issue. The folly of open borders.
Johan Klaus on January 20, 2009 at 10:51 AM
For me the big issue isn’t whether Al Qaeda or one of its franchises may have goofed up and killed themselves with biological or chemical weapons. It the report is true (and obviously there may be other explanations, or more to the story) the issue is that they continue to try to develop, or work with, such weapons. They continue to be a diobolical threat to civilization.
Thus, the really big issue is that the new President will enter office today with an ideological predisposition against dealing forcefully with such threats. He will be faced with an enemy having no such qualms.
Blaise on January 20, 2009 at 10:52 AM
Maybe these AQs got some tainted peanut butter products?
Anyway, there’s no use crying over room temp terrorists. Do they still get 72 raisins for this botchup, or do they become virgins to be presented to other terrorists by this mishap?
eaglewingz08 on January 20, 2009 at 10:54 AM
This is encouraging news and something our military and CIA should exploit just as they used the tribes in Iraq against Al-Qaeda:
The Al Qaeda Version Of Hell
January 19, 2009: Pakistan has turned into a dangerous place for al Qaeda.
http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htwin/articles/20090119.aspx
(via instapundit/stratagypage)
Working with these tribes against Al-Qaeda would be risky but we would at least be able to infiltrate,gain intelligence,and destroy with a lot more success with their help.
Even though Afghanistan/Pakistan is certainly a different
situation,the success with the Sunni tribes (which liberals said would never happen)certainly sets the ground work for giving it a try.
Baxter Greene on January 20, 2009 at 11:00 AM
But, but Obama is almost President and the world is supposed to be cute and fluffy bunnies and rainbows now, like during the Clinton Administration (despite AQ bombing the WTC in 1993, the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, the African embassy bombings in 1997, the TWA flight 800 downing, the 2000 AQ bombing of a naval vessel in Yemen, Pakistan creating a nuclear weapons tech co-op, North Korea developing ICBM tech..)!!!!!11111eleven
Neo on January 20, 2009 at 11:00 AM
Muslims like Al Qaeda — those who claim to follow the Sunnah (“Prophet’s Traditions”) — live in the Seventh Century. Certainly not the Third, before the fall of the Roman Empire, with its great buildings, surgery, and dentistry. And not the Twelfth or Thirteenth, by which time the expansion of Islam had slowed. Muslims idealize the time Mohammed was alive and just after, when Islam gobbled up half the known world through conquest.
The next best time for Islamic conquest would probably be today’s West.
/pedant off
Beagle on January 20, 2009 at 11:00 AM
I’m sure we’ll still intercept these communications when Panetta gets in.
marklmail on January 20, 2009 at 11:01 AM
We need to choose the battlefield.
Johan Klaus on January 20, 2009 at 11:02 AM
It most certainly is a bacteria….Yersinia pestis. It is very weak and suseptible to nearly every antibiotic known to this day. A very poor choice for a bio-weapon….but having said that, I would not put it past some of these muttonheads to believe that this would be the best choice of an organism.
I say, rejoice in the demise of more Islamofacist monsters…..and don’t worry.
norm1111 on January 20, 2009 at 11:13 AM
Reading this post, I was struck by the thought that this will be the next big scandal for those with BDS. How long until someone at the KOS or Huffpo runs with a story that the AQLIM was infected with the plague by the evil Bush/Cheney, in their last strike before leaving office. It would make great fodder for the nuts that want Bush prosecuted for war crimes.
thuljunior on January 20, 2009 at 11:13 AM
I would caution on underestimating the capacity and capabilities of this organization. Remember, we are getting a report from the media. The media has shown and continues to show its complete ignorance of almost all subjects. Most reporters are idiots. The thing that killed these people may have or may not have been the Plague specifically. Who knows what it might have been. Nevertheless, AQ is a persistent, cunning adversary that spends its time trying to figure out ways to kill Americans. It has been successful on a grand scale on more than one occasion. I suspect it shall be again.
King of the Britons on January 20, 2009 at 11:25 AM
I don’t know. Plague lives naturally in desert areas. We have a lot of it naturally in the Western US, especially in prairie dog communities.
crosspatch on January 20, 2009 at 11:29 AM
There was a plague outbreak from the pigeons roosting at the University of Tampa.
Beagle on January 20, 2009 at 11:39 AM
“It most certainly is a bacteria….Yersinia pestis. It is very weak and suseptible to nearly every antibiotic known to this day. A very poor choice for a bio-weapon”
The reason why I don’t believe this was any kind of a weapon was that if they had been working with plague, all they had to do was remain on a course of relatively inexpensive antibiotic while doing so. If they died from it, it says they had no access to antibiotic. Anyone working with such a bug would have an ample supply readily at hand.
If this happened, it is most likely natural. There was an interesting paper in 2006 on the variation of plague due to differences in climate. A spring that is 1 degree warmer in average temperature would produce a greater than 50% increase in plague. Heck, a few people a year in the US come down with it.
Here’s the abstract of the paper:
If you are going to be living in a cave, be mindful of what lived in it before you did and mind where you throw your garbage.
crosspatch on January 20, 2009 at 11:39 AM
The plague has never really went away. Rodent populations in El Paso county, Colorado (C. Springs) carry it currently. The best part is that an endangered mouse is one of the biggest carriers so it can not be eradicated.
cobrakai99 on January 20, 2009 at 11:43 AM
Now that Barry is in office we can plan on more miracles like this happening….
DL13 on January 20, 2009 at 11:45 AM
But after searching that story — hadn’t thought about it since the Internet — I can’t find it.
Beagle on January 20, 2009 at 11:46 AM
Plague shows up in the counties surrounding San Francisco California from time to time as well. It lives naturally in the Western US and Central Asia.
crosspatch on January 20, 2009 at 11:46 AM
Wonder how them there Virginians are gonna feel with tainted Jihadis tryin’ to get into heaven….
44Magnum on January 20, 2009 at 11:49 AM
If I were planning a mass infection, I’d make sure I was in a big, big crowd.
Say, an Inaguration.
Just saying.
bonnie_ on January 20, 2009 at 12:58 PM
FYI, Ed, the subheading
is what got me to click this one. Good stuff.
token on January 20, 2009 at 1:24 PM
If the containment area was breached, does that mean that someone infected with the plague (or some other biological agent) is out infecting people?
Can we really trust the Algerian armed forces to contain the weapons and seal off the camp, when some of them are loyal to jihadist radicals in Algeria? Algeria is a hotbed of islamist revolt–just ask the French.
What will Obama do about this, since we don’t have Bush to kick Al Qaeda around any more?
Steve Z on January 20, 2009 at 1:24 PM
That many deaths, in such an isolated area, with no recognizable vectors, no signs of plague at various points of origin of the deceased AQ fighters…almost spontaneous generation of the disease….yep, not a natural occurrence.
But, AQ would never ever try to build there own WMD’s, right?
coldwarrior on January 20, 2009 at 1:32 PM
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