DCFOUNTAIN.COM

Photo: greefus groinks

When U.S. biodefense scientist Bruce Ivins apparently committed suicide this week as federal investigators were preparing to charge him with five counts of murder in the 2001 anthrax attacks, the questions he left behind may prove to be as unnerving as the incident itself.

For starters:

• Given Ivins’ long history of significant psychological issues — including homicidal rants — why in God’s name was he allowed anywhere near stocks of anthrax?
• Why did it take until 2006 — five years after the anthrax incidents — for Ivins to be considered a prime suspect; shouldn’t he have been thoroughly investigated all along?
• In a hyper-security-conscious metro region that months before the anthrax attacks arrested a teen girl for eating French fries on a subway platform, who was asleep on the watch at the lab where Ivins worked?
• In the rush to find a culprit, did authorities instead publicly finger the wrong guy — who years later we learned was innocent — in order to ease the relentless pressure to produce the actual villain?