Ft. Detrick Scientist Targeted in Anthrax Probe, Commits Suicide

His name was Bruce Ivins, and it appears that his arrest was imminent.

More important than the possibility, and no evidence has been presented, that the Anthrax mailer has been identified is the question about who lied to the press about the presence of Bentonite in the spores.

Not only was this completely untrue, there were none in the samples, but it was used to point a finger at Iraq, which, unlike the US, used Bentonite in its bio-weapons program.

Glenn Breenwald has a rundown of how the press, ABC in particular, were used to finger Iraq for the Anthrax by mentioning non-existent Bentonite.

Who were the government sources who were lying to the press? Was Bruce Ivins one of them? Was this a part of a concerted effort to gin up support for the attack on Iraq?