CASE CLOSED, WE THINK – AT 6:19 P.M. ET:  The FBI has closed its investigation into the anthrax attacks of 2001:

The FBI officially closed its eight-year investigation of the 2001 anthrax attacks Friday after concluding that Army scientist Bruce E. Ivins acted alone in preparing and mailing the deadly spores that killed five people and terrorized the nation.

The long-delayed end to the case known as Amerithrax was accompanied by the release of hundreds of pages of documents -- many of them not previously public -- describing in unprecedented detail how agents tied the eccentric Maryland scientist to the country's worst bioterrorist attack, and ruled out other potential suspects.

The validity of the FBI's case will never be tested in court because Ivins, a specialist in anthrax vaccines at Frederick's Fort Detrick Army base, committed suicide in 2008 as investigators were preparing to charge him.

The documents reveal for the first time that Ivins, a man with a long history of mental and emotional disorders, confided before his death that he was worried he might have committed acts he said he could not recall.

COMMENT:  Well, they probably got it right, but I'm always uneasy about investigations that blame a dead guy.  At the same time, a legitimate question can be asked:  Why was a man with "a long history ofmental and emotional disorders" permitted to work in an Army anthrax laboratory?  I'd like to see that answered.

February 19, 2010