Patrick Leahy: “In the autumn of 2001, while the Nation was still reeling from the reality of our airplanes being turned into weapons of…”

“In the autumn of 2001, while the Nation was still reeling from the reality of our airplanes being turned into weapons of terror, someone, somewhere, launched another deadly terrorist attack using our postal system to deliver their weapon of choice--anthrax. Those anthrax-laced letters targeting several journalists and public officials, among them Senator Daschle and myself, jarring an already fearful Nation. Receiving that letter was a chilling and personal reminder that the threat of terrorism was not temporary, nor was it an ocean away. Thankfully, my staff and I were unharmed, but others were not so lucky. The terrorists who sent these letters struck 22 people ranging in age from 7 months to 94 years, and the attacks resulted in the deaths of five Americans. They were people who died by simply touching an envelope--in some cases the mail was addressed to them, and in other instances, it was an envelope meant for someone else. Yet all of these people died as a result of doing what so many of us do every day--our jobs. Five years after those attacks and 5 years into the global war on terror, there is still no perpetrator who has been arrested or convicted for these attacks.”