Posted on 12/25/2003 9:12:03 PM PST by knak
But officials reiterate they have not been told of a specific threat against Las Vegas
By ERIN NEFF and J.M. KALIL
REVIEW-JOURNAL
Although officials reiterated Wednesday that there is no specific terrorist threat against Las Vegas, the FBI is sending numerous agents here to bolster anti-terrorism efforts, according to a law enforcement source.
"The people at the FBI are really, really concerned," the local law enforcement source said. "They have a whole bunch of agents coming in.
"Even if it's just 15 agents it's a cause for concern, but it's my understanding you've got a planeload coming in," the source said.
Las Vegas FBI officials would not confirm or deny that agents from field offices in Salt Lake City and Phoenix were traveling here.
Special Agent Todd Palmer, a spokesman for the Las Vegas field office, would say only that the agency "does have the ability to request as a matter of routine investigative needs agents from other field offices for assistance."
Several national news stories indicating Las Vegas is a terrorist target frustrated local law enforcement officials, who maintained Wednesday that information they are receiving from Washington, D.C., contradicts the news reports.
"The pipeline of intelligence I have is two sources: the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI," Sheriff Bill Young said. "I believe absolutely that they are being forthcoming with me about what they know, and they say they know of no specific threat to Las Vegas. I also am confident that they're getting everything they can out of their intelligence sources."
Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., who sits on the House Intelligence Committee, said he believes national media reports are "broad interpretations" of intelligence information.
"Many of these reports are vague and are broad in their inclusion of Las Vegas," Gibbons said.
Gibbons said Las Vegas is similar to Times Square in New York City or to Disneyland in California in its inclusion as a potential target site.
He also noted it is common knowledge that five of the terrorists who hijacked planes on Sept. 11, 2001, visited Las Vegas in the months before the attacks. Federal officials say they have not pinpointed a reason for those visits.
Gibbons said he knows of no "specific town on a specific list" in intelligence reports.
Prior to Sept. 11, 2001, he said, chatter between suspected terrorists suggested: "The game is on for Tuesday."
Gibbons said current intercepts of communications between suspected terrorists offer no such specifics.
"It's vague and it's difficult to tell," Gibbons said. "Interpreting intelligence is a highly-nuanced art form."
Gov. Kenny Guinn and federal Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge spoke on the phone late Tuesday morning.
Jerry Bussel, Guinn's adviser on homeland security, said Ridge pledged to contact the governor if federal officials unearth evidence that terrorists are targeting a site in Nevada.
"Kenny, I don't know anything. If I do, I guarantee you I will call you personally," Bussel said Ridge told the governor.
Bussel said the state will inform residents and visitors of any threats to public safety.
"If something comes out that involves the citizens or tourists visiting us, we won't hold back when it comes to safety. Out goes the economy, out goes politics. Not telling people is unacceptable," Bussel said.
Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., said she was not aware of anything that would substantiate persistent reports of Las Vegas being targeted by terrorists.
"If there were, the congressional delegation would know about it, the governor would know about it and the sheriff would know about it, and none of us has been informed," she said.
Berkley was critical of Ridge, who mentioned Las Vegas while talking to reporters on Tuesday about terrorism, and national media, who she said have amplified the comment.
Urging vigilance over the holidays, Ridge said, "These are holidays, there are cultural holidays, religious holidays, there are public gatherings at major urban areas around the country, big celebrations, Times Square, Las Vegas, L.A., football games, you name it and we encourage people to be vigilant and be aware, and let the security professionals and law enforcement community -- federal, state and local officials -- worry about your security."
"I think it was most unfortunate that Tom Ridge used Las Vegas as an example of a glamorous destination where there might be an increased threat of terrorist attack," Berkley said. "There is no specific information about Las Vegas."
"I recommend that everybody do what my family is doing; we are enjoying the holiday season in Las Vegas," she said.
In an interview Monday with radio commentator Rush Limbaugh, Ridge said Las Vegas comes up "occasionally" in intelligence information gathered from al-Qaeda operatives.
"Occasionally, we pick up chatter of the cultural icons that they detest, the worst of western culture and Hollywood or Las Vegas, these are targets, and have been, always will be," Ridge said, according to a transcript.
Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Police Department is encouraging citizens to phone in to authorities any suspicious activity that seems out of the ordinary or that otherwise causes them concern while the terror alert level reflects a high risk of an attack.
Such calls should be placed to the department's nonemergency line, 311. All emergency phone calls should continue to be placed to 911.
Heightened terrorism alerts did little to inconvenience travelers passing through McCarran International Airport on Christmas Eve.
On Wednesday afternoon, the ticket counter lines were short, the arrival monitors listed most flights as on-time and few people were experiencing delays related to security. Most measures taken at the airport when the national alert status goes to orange are internal and invisible to people, said Hilarie Grey, spokeswoman for the nation's seventh-busiest airport.
"It's been pretty quiet," Grey said. "We haven't had any problems. Most of the delays we have had are because of weather."
English traveler Madeleine Nurrish, on vacation in Las Vegas with her parents and brother, said she's not nervous about traveling during the holidays while the terrorist alert is elevated. On Wednesday, she and her family were part of the sparse crowd waiting to leave Las Vegas for other destinations.
"We're traveling to Los Angeles next," Nurrish said as she eyed the monitors for the status of her departure flight. "We've got about another week of vacation left."
Review-Journal writers Sean Whaley and Lisa Kim Bach and Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault contributed to this report.
Oh, BTW, remember the warning about Tappahannock, VA? I looked up on google - there's no 'p' in Arabic, but the root 'tbb' stands for 'to perish, to be killed' and hanik, I can't tell you because I don't want to be banned. You can google it yourselves.
Either the Feds intercepted a pornographic personal phone call, or we in VA are going to have major-league trouble - and the FBI can't even hire decent translators.
Um, no thank you - you do what you need to do, but I'll worry about my safety.
Comments like this scare me. Sure, they are doing a wonderful job with intelligence, and protecting the overall picture, but when it comes to personal & family IMMEDIATE protection needs, I want COMPLETE control over it.
If it's virgins they are looking for, they went to the wrong place.
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