anthrax scare in dc house speaker hastert has decided to close the entire capitol complex ,
including the office buildings on the house side , at the end of the working
day today through monday , as a precautionary move to allow for special
agents and germ experts to conduct a sweep of the ventilation systems and
all remaining unopened mail . the senate side is expected to do the same .
it has also been confirmed that the anthrax - laden letter sent to senate
majority leader daschle ' s office was of a particularly potent , high grade
military quality anthrax that quickly spread once opened . some 29 staff in
dachle ' s office or the mail room have tested positive , and some anthrax
spores were found in the ventilation system of the hart building ( where
daschle ' s office is located ) and in one of the tunnels leading to the
capitol itself .
if there is even a hint that this military grade anthrax came from iraq , there
will be a strike by the u . s . against iraq . another possibility is that the
anthrax is of russian origin and was somehow illicitly acquired by al qaeda or
the taliban .
there has not been a second anthrax letter or a new outbreak of anthrax ,
nor is there any evidence of anthrax spores spreading to committee rooms
located in the other senate or house buildings . this was a pre - cautionary
move by house speaker hastert , though it in no way diminishes how ugly the
situation is .