Look at the crazy in the cage!

Make sure you stare!

After dealing with the media circus surrounding the FBI’s investigation of seemingly Public Enemy #1, Bruce Ivins, it occurred to me that the word circus is less accurate than another place you are likely to see domesticated animals: the zoo.

Evidence linking Ivins to the Anthrax attack in 2001 was circumstantial, which they even admitted, but recent findings have called into question nearly every aspect of the case. Currently, microbiologists have come forward to question 1) the science the FBI used, 2) that Ivins could even process the Anthrax alone, and 3) the FBI’s potential to even isolate the strain so definitively. More response here. At the same time, investigative journalists such as Gerald Posner and Glenn Greenwald have poked tremendous holes in the evidence, including the credibility of the star witness and the credibility of the FBI’s investigation.

Then there are the obvious issues that don’t compute. Either Ivins is a meticulous researcher and devious plotter or he is crazy, depressed, and reckless. Either he is dangerous and needs to be pursued or he is not dangerous and maintains his work with Anthrax. Either this is an open-and-shut-case or there really is nothing there!

Personally, I am less interested in whether or not Bruce Ivins was the “lone mad scientist” or not (though I’m certain he wasn’t based on the evidence) and more interested in the rush to judgment. What is the purpose that has the FBI flooding the news agencies with all of this circumstantial evidence, thereby flooding the public opinion with stories about sorority obsessions and strange e-mails? And what purpose could the FBI have in closing this investigation?

I am reminded of a Hollywood example of this. My wife watches The Closer and I caught the end of the last episode in which the title character uses her fiancé from the FBI to get information so that she could close her case. In so doing, she jeopardized the FBI’s investigation of a much bigger criminal (as well as her relationship). The funny thing in this is that this exposes the criminal investigation agencies’ obsession with closing a case over determining the truth or helping achieve justice. In naming a now dead man as the only operative in an elaborate crime, the FBI will be able to close the case and move on. It doesn’t seem to matter to them that this doesn’t fit. It doesn’t seem to make a difference to them that significant parts of the investigation have all but proved he couldn’t have done that part by himself.

It is almost as if they know they would never get a conviction with this. They hounded him and warned him that he was being investigated. His apparent suicide (conveniently-timed as it is) only adds to the story. It is almost as if they have learned nothing since the JFK assassination and Monica Lewinsky—cover-ups and half-truths have a life of their own. Wouldn’t an honest investigation be more fruitful?

This leads to the primary reason for interest: how easily this is taken and amplified in the media. This case makes a mockery of the FBI, and yet, they are going to continue to get credit for a “win” here. And the people will be able to sleep soundly knowing that a criminal got the ‘sweet justice’ of death. Perhaps it is the half-listening, the partial attention paid by the casual TV news watcher that is the true target, after all. Perhaps the FBI, politicized under Bush as any other agency is in the business of marketing: pitching their product to ignorant consumers. Their technique isn’t just to sway us, as a lawyer sways a jury, but to play off both our ignorance and our laziness. They have put forth a flimsy case with severe inconsistencies knowing half of us won’t get it and the other half won’t even listen.

But it is the media zoo in which they have placed this poor man for millions to ogle that gets me. They’ve put a sign next to his cage that may read something like this.

Bruce is an homosapien, found here in his natural habitat. Notice the contents of his desk, the lab coat, and the vial that was most certainly his murder weapon. He works at Fort Detrick in Maryland and otherwise lives with a wife and adopted children.

It is believed that he is solely responsible for the 2001 Anthrax attacks that resulted in five deaths. Though there isn’t a great deal of definitive evidence against him, he has the crazy eyes, doesn’t he?

Onlookers would no doubt chant "murderer" outside of his cage as they visit to get a glimpse of such a "monster". It is like a car wreck--you have to not only slow down, but go well out of your way to get a glimpse!

Oh, and then there would be note taped to the sign.

Sorry for the inconvenience, but Bruce recently died and his cage is being emptied. We encourage your continued ogling and derision while we take our time in replacing him with another specimen.

What a team the FBI and Big Media make! I’m so glad I live in such a repugnant environment!