Author: Brementown Musician

In last night’s debate, there was one McCain remark that made my jaw drop, but I...

I was privileged to attend the California Democratic Party convention last weekend, and I’m...

I don’t have a lot of time to give this the full diary treatment, but I wanted to post and...

Congressman George Miller wrote an op-ed that appeared in today’s Contra Costa Times detailing his suggested strategy for withdrawing our troops from Iraq.  It’s worth noting that while Miller voted in favor of military action in Afghanistan, he opposed the invasion of Iraq, claiming that “there was no evidence to support President Bush’s claim that Saddam Hussein posed a threat to our country.”

Miller goes on to say “Americans and Iraqis alike desperately need a strategy that will resolve the conflict, bring our troops home safely and quickly, and enable the United States to concentrate on real security threats. We cannot afford to simply ‘stay the course’ of failure.”  He quotes Gen. George Casey, who has said that the presence of American troops in Iraq “fuels the insurgency” and “extends the amount of time that it will take for Iraqi security forces to become self-reliant.”

Here’s Miller’s exit plan:

The United States should take the following steps.

• Immediately renounce any permanent designs on Iraq’s territory or resources, and plans for long-term bases there.
• Stop financing Iraqi political parties and candidates.
• Over the next 12 months, shift active duty forces in Iraq away from combat and counterinsurgency operations and toward a training and stability force.
• Shift several thousand U.S. combat troops from Iraq to Kuwait in the form of a rapid reaction force to help ensure regional stability, deter Iraq’s neighbors from meddling in its affairs and to protect against any coups to destabilize Iraq’s new government.
• The remaining active duty forces should be redeployed out of Iraq to bolster the fight against terrorism elsewhere or be returned home. Iraqi security forces must stand up on their own but will only do so when American forces withdraw.
• Return to the United States the approximately 46,000 Guard and Reserve forces in Iraq immediately following the December elections.
• Increase aid for democracy assistance that allows independent political growth.
• Shift development aid in Iraq away from large projects undertaken by foreign contractors, like Halliburton, and toward microdevelopment locally oriented projects run by Iraqis.
• President Bush must diplomatically engage all of Iraq’s neighbors immediately, including, and most especially, Iran. Without their help on issues like border security there will be no stable future for Iraq.

Of course, there’s no chance in hell that the current administration would ever follow this blueprint, but it sure seems like Miller makes some good points.

Okay, so I know that during the September 24-25 anti-war demonstration in Washington, DC, there was a lot of concern over what “they” might do to disrupt our protests.  You remember how the trains stopped running, and everybody went, “Woooo, what’s up with that?”

Well, here’s a little additional something to stir the pot.  According to this story from Yahoo news, it’s what you didn’t see or hear about that should worry you.

Small amounts of a bacteria that causes “rabbit fever” were found on Washington’s National Mall last weekend as thousands of protesters marched against the Iraq War, U.S. health authorities said on Saturday.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said several government environmental air monitors in the Mall area detected low levels of Francisella tularensis bacteria that cause Tularemia, commonly known as rabbit fever, on September 24-25.

So you might ask, exactly what is Tularemia, and where might one reasonably expect to be exposed to it?  Well, here’s what the CDC has to say:

Tularemia, also known as “rabbit fever,” is a disease caused by the bacterium Francisella tularensis. Tularemia is typically found in animals, especially rodents, rabbits, and hares. Tularemia is usually a rural disease and has been reported in all U.S. states except Hawaii.  [snip]

Most cases occur in the south-central and western states. Nearly all cases occur in rural areas, and are caused by the bites of ticks and biting flies or from handling infected rodents, rabbits, or hares.

Okay, now, this is important, so I’m going to repeat it.  How is tularemia spread?  Again, I’ll quote the CDC:

In the United States, most persons with tularemia acquire the infection from arthropod bites, particularly tick bites, or from contact with infected mammals, particularly rabbits. Historically, most cases of tularemia occurred in summer, related to arthropod bites, and in winter, related to hunters coming into contact with infected rabbit carcasses. In recent years, a seasonal increase in incidence has occurred only in the late spring and summer months, when arthropod bites are most common. Outbreaks of tularemia in the United States have been associated with muskrat handling (3), tick bites (4,5), deerfly bites (6), and lawn mowing or cutting brush (7). Sporadic cases in the United States have been associated with contaminated drinking water (8) and various laboratory exposures (9). Outbreaks of pneumonic tularemia, particularly in low-incidence areas, should prompt consideration of bioterrorism (10).

Hold on.  Back up.  “BIOTERRORISM”?  Oh, yeah.  The CDC has something to say about that, as well, and it might go a long way towards explaining why there were environmental air monitors in the Mall to pick up the tularemia readings in the first place.

CDC defines three categories of biologic agents with potential to be used as weapons, based on ease of dissemination or transmission, potential for major public health impact (e.g., high mortality), potential for public panic and social disruption, and requirements for public health preparedness (2). Agents of highest concern are Bacillus anthracis (anthrax), Yersinia pestis (plague), variola major (smallpox), Clostridium botulinum toxin (botulism), Francisella tularensis (tularemia), filoviruses (Ebola hemorrhagic fever, Marburg hemorrhagic fever); and arenaviruses (Lassa [Lassa fever], Junin [Argentine hemorrhagic fever], and related viruses).

So if someone were to disseminate tularemia as a biological weapon, what might we expect to see?  Sorry to keep quoting the CDC, but this is the most likely scenario:

Francisella tularensis is highly infectious. A small number of bacteria (10-50 organisms) can cause disease. If Francisella tularensis were used as a bioweapon, the bacteria would likely be made airborne so they could be inhaled. People who inhale the bacteria can experience severe respiratory illness, including life-threatening pneumonia and systemic infection, if they are not treated.

If the bacteria are inhaled, symptoms can include abrupt onset of fever, chills, headache, muscle aches, joint pain, dry cough, and progressive weakness. People with pneumonia can develop chest pain, difficulty breathing, bloody sputum, and respiratory failure. Tularemia can be fatal if the person is not treated with appropriate antibiotics.

One more time.  Fever, chills, headache, muscle aches, joint pain, dry cough, and progressive weakness.  People with pneumonia can develop chest pain, difficulty breathing, bloody sputum, and respiratory failure. Tularemia can be fatal if the person is not treated with appropriate antibiotics.  Onset of symptoms is typically 3-5 days, but can range anywhere from 1-14 days.

But, of course, it’s all okay, just a false alarm, nothing to worry about.

WASHINGTON – A week after bioterrorism sensors detected the presence of a dangerous bacterium on the national Mall, health officials said there are no reports that any of the thousands of people in the nation’s capital Sept. 24 have tularemia, the illness that results from exposure to the bacteria. Federal health officials are still testing the samples that collected a small amount of the tularemia agent, which can cause flulike symptoms and is usually treated with antibiotics. The bacteria probably was not the result of nefarious activity, according to federal investigators.

There now, don’t you feel better already?