U.S. Suspects 4 Nations Have Smallpox

— -- U.S. Suspects Four Nations Possess SmallPox

W A S H I N G T O N, Nov. 5 — U.S. intelligence believes four nations otherthan the United States — Iraq, North Korea, Russia and France — probably possess samples of the smallpox virus, a U.S. officialsaid.

Al Qaeda is also believed to have sought samples of smallpox forweaponization, but U.S. officials don't believe the terror networkis capable of mounting an attack with smallpox. Evidence recoveredin Afghanistan pointed to Osama bin Laden's interest in thedisease, the U.S. official said Monday, speaking on condition ofanonymity.

U.S. officials worry that Iraq and North Korea could developpotent biological weapons with their samples, and lax security inRussia could allow other nations to obtain the deadly disease foruse as a weapon.

The fears that smallpox, declared eradicated in 1980, couldagain be loose on the world have driven the Bush administration toconsider vaccinations for the American populace and to prepareemergency plans should an outbreak be detected.

Smallpox historically has killed about a third of its victimsand can be transmitted from person to person, unlike otherbiological weapons such as anthrax.

Many experts suspected North Korea had samples of the smallpoxvirus. A Russian intelligence report made public in 1993 accusedPyongyang of having a smallpox weapon, though that has not beenpublicly corroborated.

A declassified U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency report from May1994 also quotes an unnamed source saying Russian scientists gaveNorth Korea smallpox samples.

Before 1998, U.N. weapons inspectors discovered limited evidenceof a smallpox program in Iraq. They found a machine labeled"smallpox" and Iraq is experimenting with a related virus thatinfects camels.

Russia acknowledges having samples of the virus, as does theUnited States. But Ken Alibek, a former top scientist in the Sovietbiological weapons program who came to the United States in 1992,claimed the Soviets covertly developed smallpox as a weapon in the1980s.

The Washington Post, which first reported the intelligencefinding in today's editions, said France's samples are believedto be for defensive research programs aimed at limiting casualtiesfrom a smallpox outbreak.

Routine smallpox vaccinations ended in the United States in1972, and experts believe that those last vaccinated more thanthree decades ago have little residual immunity remaining. OnlyRussia and the United States overtly kept samples of the virus.

But the decision to offer the vaccine is a difficult one becausethe vaccine itself can be dangerous. It is made with a live viruscalled vaccinia that can cause serious damage both to peoplevaccinated and to those with whom they come into close contact.

— The Associated Press

War, Sniper Shootings Make Ramadan Anxious Time for Muslims

P A T E R S O N, N.J., Nov. 5 — The threat of war and the sniper shootingscase promise to make the holy month of Ramadan an anxious time forU.S. Muslims, just as it was last year after the terrorist attacks.

"It would be like on Christmas Day, if Christians felt theywere in the position of guilt by association," said Hodan Hassan,a spokeswoman for the Washington, D.C.-based Council onAmerican-Islamic Relations.

At the holiest time of the year "you feel like you have todefend your faith and defend yourself and prove that you are a realAmerican," he said.

In Islam, Ramadan marks God's revelation of the Quran, theMuslim holy book, to the Prophet Muhammad nearly 1,400 years ago.Muslims abstain from food, drink, and sex during daylight hours inan act of sacrifice and purification.

The holiday is marked on a lunar calendar and begins at thefirst sighting of the crescent moon, which should take place onWednesday in the United States, according to Khalid Shaukat, alunar observation consultant for major Islamic groups.

Last year, the holiday came two months after the attacks on theWorld Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Hundreds of Muslims, many from the Northeast, were detained orarrested by authorities looking for terrorists. American bombs werefalling on Afghanistan.

This year, the nation is poised for another military conflictwith a Muslim nation, this time Iraq. And news that one of theWashington-area sniper suspects was a convert to Louis Farrakhan'sNation of Islam has some Muslims fearful of a backlash similar tothe one that followed Sept. 11, even though the status ofFarrakhan's group as part of orthodox Islam is disputed.

While Muslims will continue to fast, pray and gather with familyas they have done for centuries, this Ramadan will be morerestrained and anxious, many say.

"Our teaching is that anything that happens to us is a test,"said Nabil Abbassi, president of the Islamic Center of PassaicCounty in Paterson, one of the most influential mosques in NewJersey. "There were beautiful, pleasant, easygoing times before,and they were a test of how we handled blessings.

"Now we are in a different kind of test. Our religion is beingquestioned and attacked everywhere."

Ramadan is a time of introspection, prayer and compassion. Eachday of fasting ends with family and friends gathering to share arich meal that begins with dates, juice and soup and ends withsticky pastries.

That communal meal in the evening has traditionally been a greatcelebration. But for the past two years, world events have dulledsome of the joy.

Muslims agonized over the deaths of innocent civilians inAfghanistan last fall, and fear much greater destruction and deathif the U.S. attacks Iraq in an effort to topple Saddam Hussein.

"The war against Iraq will never benefit the American people orhumanity," said Imam Mohammad Qatanani, the spiritual leader ofthe Paterson mosque. "We will pray this month by raising our handsto God to stop any kind of war between brothers and sisters. Wewill make it a special occasion to build bridges between brothersand sisters in faith, and ask people to stop their desire to wagewar and kill."

But Sayyid Muhammad Syeed, secretary general of the IslamicSociety of North America, based in Plainfield, Ind., said AmericanMuslims have one reason to be especially joyful this Ramadan.

"The terrorists thought the power of America was in those talltowers and took them down," Syeed said. "But they didn't know thereal power of America is in its people of all colors and religionscoming together to make a society in which everyone contributes,and that has not changed."

— The Associated Press

Defense Department May Not Release Report on 9/11 Pentagon Attack

N E W Y O R K, Nov. 5 — A report that helps explain why the Pentagonsuffered relatively small structural damage during the Sept. 11terrorist attacks may not be publicly released.

The Defense Department, concerned that the report could exposethe building's vulnerabilities, has held up the study in aclassification review, The New York Times reported today.

"We've obviously been the site of a terrorist attack, so wedon't want to disclose anything that would assist someone who wouldwant to attack us again," John Jester, acting director of thePentagon Force Protection Agency, a security agency, told theTimes.

Jester said the study's findings could possibly be shared withcertain engineers even if the report is classified.

The review, sponsored by the American Society of Civil Engineersand completed last July, also provides recommendations for makingbuildings safer.

The five concentric rings of the Pentagon are built of heavylayers of limestone and brick, as well as concrete. Engineers havesaid that those materials helped absorb the impact of the planecrash and the flames that broke out immediately afterward.

Few of the 125 Pentagon workers who died in the attacks werefrom outside the immediate impact area. A total of 59 passengersand crew members on the plane died.

— The Associated Press

Vietnam Veterans Honor Ground Zero Rescue Dogs

N E W Y O R K, Nov. 5 — After raising money to help victims of the Sept.11 terrorist attacks and other causes, the Vietnam Veterans ofAmerica found they still had "a few bucks left," so they bought adog.

Not just any dog, but one of the hundred or so plastic DOGNYstatues that are now being placed around New York City by theAmerican Kennel Club, commemorating the search and rescue dogs ofGround Zero.

The veterans' dog, gussied up in camouflage combat gear, wasplaced in the lobby of the Veterans Affairs hospital in Manhattan,where on Monday it was dedicated to the 4,000 scout, sentry andtracker dogs and their military handlers in the Vietnam War.

"A lot of our guys were dog handlers so they really appreciatethis," said John Rowan, president of the VVA's New York chapter,who led the delegation laying a wreath in the colors of the Vietnamservice ribbon, which is based on the yellow and red flag of theU.S.-backed Saigon government.

The dog statue, clad in camouflaged helmet and poncho, web gear,canteen and boots, with a "K-9" dog tag around its neck, drewamused and curious looks from hospital staff, patients andvisitors.

"It's so beautiful," gushed Fanny Vitagliano, of Manhattan,who was visiting the hospital with her husband Biagio, a World WarII veteran.

"This is a good thing, really an honor, recognizing that thosedogs did a lot," said Robert Deluccy, a former Vietnam Warartilleryman who was seeing friends at the hospital. "Those dogssaved a lot of lives. It's a shame we had to take theirs."

Dogs were popular with many American combat units in Vietnam,especially valued for their ability in scouting the rugged terrainand spotting trip wires and other clues to hidden booby traps.

Of the dogs that served with U.S. forces in Indochina, about 280were killed in action. Unlike the original K-9 Corps dogs of WorldWar I and World War II, the rest of them did not return home.Concerns about disease and readjustment mandated that they be putdown.

The American Kennel Club's DOGNY program provides financialsupport for canine search and rescue organizations nationwide. Thestatues can be sponsored for $10,000 or bought outright for$13,500.

Rowan, who served with Air Force intelligence in Vietnam, saidthe VVA had found many uses for its own post-9/11 fund-raising,helping veterans and "people who otherwise fall through thecracks." With "a few bucks left over," Rowan said, the groupdecided to buy the dog statue, and plans to take it on tour toother VA hospitals.

"I think it's a fitting tribute to all the dogs that went outthere," said David Frei, spokesman for the American Kennel Club."It's just another testimony to the good things that our dogs dofor us everyday."

— The Associated Press