Literary Sleuth Offers FBI Clues

By MICHAEL HILL Associated Press Writer

November 8, 2001, 5:46 PM EST

ALBANY, N.Y. -- The English professor and literary sleuth who identified the author of the political novel "Primary Colors" has analyzed the anthrax-contaminated letters for the FBI and come up with some possible leads.

Among them: the letter writer might have lived in New Jersey for an extended period of time, might have spent time in Canada, and might speak Arabic or Persian.

Don Foster of Vassar College in Poughkeepsie said his analysis does not prove anything and "it might not lead us anywhere, but it at least provides some things to go on."

It was Foster who pegged political columnist Joe Klein as "Anonymous," the author of "Primary Colors," based loosely on Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign. Foster also has worked on criminal cases, studying similarities between the Unabomber manifesto and the writings of Ted Kaczynski for the FBI.

Foster said Wednesday that he studied copies of the letters sent to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, NBC anchorman Tom Brokaw and the New York Post.

The Daschle letter was postmarked from Trenton but had a bogus return address listing a "Greendale School" in Franklin Park, N.J. Foster said there are two Franklin Parks in that state, but the ZIP code listed is for Monmouth, N.J. He said such a diversionary tactic could indicate the sender knows the area fairly well.

"This looks like someone who may have resided in New Jersey for some months or maybe longer," he said.

There is no Greendale School in that area either, though there are a number of them around North America. Two Greendale Schools in Canada -- one near Montreal and another near Vancouver -- were recently in the news. It is possible that the author heard the name "Greendale School" while spending time in one of those areas, Foster said.

The clumsy job on Daschle's address, with "Hart Senate Office" on one line of the envelope and "Building" isolated on the next, could suggest someone who does not know how to abbreviate words in English. It also could indicate the author is not used to writing left to right. A number of languages, including Arabic and Persian, are written right to left, he said.

The FBI confirmed that it asked for Foster's opinion of the letters.

FBI officials have acknowledged that agents have few clues in the investigation into the anthrax attacks that have left four people dead.

On the Net:

FBI's images of anthrax letters: http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel01/102301.htm

-- Anonymous, November 08, 2001