Diary Prequel Package — page 37

DHHS and the lack of responsiveness of the CDC to the Secretary. I have lost confidence in their capability of responding to any bioterrorism attack, much less a major one that is being predicted. Thompson wants to move all responsibilities away from CDC and put them in DHHS office with me in charge of vaccines. I encourage him not to dismantle the CDC, but to try and fix it. If Jeff Koplan does not cooperate, then fire him. I will prepare a vaccine report for anthrax similar to the one that I prepared for smallpox (see above). Oct. 25, 2001 -- The Miller/Stolberg article appears in the NY Times. I come out looking good. All stories break that the Daschle letter anthrax is of the highest grade and almost certainly was made by and/or stolen from a country and not made in someone's backroom lab. Oct. 25-28, 2001 -- More cases of inhalation anthrax (5 in Washington, D.C. among postal workers.). Media frenzy. I appear on every major network show including Meet the Press on Oct. 21 and This Week with Sam Donaldson and Cokie Roberts on Oct. 28. Several newpaper editorials in L.A. Times, NY Times and Washington Post (Charles Krauthammer) calling for me to be put in charge of the Bioterrorism effort and response. Major concern is still the clash of the CDC style of doing things without letting DHHS or anyone else know about it and then having mixed messages get out with the style of Tommy Thompson who reverts to the Governor of Wisconsin mode which is to trust a small group of inner circle people and run things from his office. I have become one of these inner circle people. However, I am very concemed that this clash of styles between the CDC and DHHS is very destructive. I am working with Stewart Simonson (Thompson's confidante) and Mike Osterholm to try to get the CDC and the rest of the DHHS to work in harmony so that we can be effective and so that we do not look like a bunch of disorganized incompetents to the rest of the world. It is very frustrating for me. Oct 29, 2001 -- More calls by the Press and others for me to be by Gov. Ridge's side for White House Press briefings. Received call from White House that Ridge wants me at the press conference at WH tomorrow. First case in New Jersey of cutaneous anthrax in woman who had no direct connection with postal service. Possibility of contaminated letter from Hamilton Township post office going to her home or place of employment. The plot is thickening! Oct. 30, 2001 -- Give press conference at White House. After conference, met at the office of the Nuclear Threat Initiative with former members of the USA Army bioterrorist team and others. Frank and frightening discussion about the nature of the material (anthrax) that was used in the Daschle letter. For some reason, the CIA and the FBI are not making public (probably for forensic reasons in tracking the perpetrators) the true nature of the threat. In short, this material is of the highest grade even better than our bioterrorist experts have made. They feel that only a highly skilled person could do this. That person could get material in small quantities and do the work here. If the person has large amounts, he would have to have special facilities or would have to have gotten it from a rogue state or covertly from USA . People at the meeting were: Richard Spertzel,