FEAR of a chemical or biological attack has sparked panic buying of gas masks
since 11 September. The scare was worsened by news that operating manuals for
crop dusting aircraft had been found among the hijackers’ belongings, plus
reports that several of them tried to get hold of crop dusters.
The US considered the threat real enough to ground crop dusters for several
days. Then came claims that the US had satellite images of dead dogs tied to
stakes at an Osama bin Laden stronghold in Afghanistan—possibly victims of
chemical or biological warfare (CBW) tests.
Rushing out to get…
