Posted on 05/25/2004 4:52:15 PM PDT by Wolfstar
17 minutes ago (at time of posting) The intelligence does not include a time, place or method of attack but is among the most disturbing received by the government since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, according to a senior federal counterterrorism official who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Tuesday.
Of most concern, the official said, is that terrorists may possess and use a chemical, biological or radiological weapon that could cause much more damage and casualties than a conventional bomb.
"There is clearly a steady drumbeat of information that they are going to attack and hit us hard," said the official, who described the intelligence as highly credible.
The official declined to provide any specifics about the sources of the information but said there was an unusually high level of corroboration.
Despite that, the official said there was no immediate plan to raise the nation's terrorism threat level from yellow, or elevated, to orange, or high. The threat level has been at yellow — midpoint on the five-color scale — since January.
Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller plan a news conference Wednesday to outline an intensive effort by law enforcement, intelligence and homeland security officials to detect and disrupt any potential plots. And the FBI plans to dispatch a bulletin to some 18,000 state and local law enforcement agencies warning of the threat.
Beginning with Saturday's dedication of the new World War II Memorial in Washington, the summer presents a number of high-profile targets in the United States. They include the G-8 summit in Georgia next month that will attract top officials from some of America's closest allies, the Democratic National Convention in Boston in July and the Republican National Convention in August in New York.
The FBI and Homeland Security Department also are concerned about so-called soft targets such as shopping malls anywhere in the United States that offer a far less protected environment than a political convention hall.
U.S. authorities repeatedly have said al-Qaida is determined to mount an attack on U.S. soil, in part to announce to the world that it remains capable of doing so despite the money and effort that has gone into homeland security in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.
There also is concern terrorists might try to mount an attack to coincide with the November election. The political fallout from the March 11 train bombings in Spain taught al-Qaida that an attack timed to an election can have a major impact. Spain's former ruling party was ousted in the voting that followed the bombing, which killed 191 and injured more than 2,000.
The official did not say how many suspected al-Qaida or other terrorist operatives are believed in the country, whether they made their way into the United States recently or have been here for some time. The FBI has warned in the past that Islamic extremist groups may attempt to recruit non-Middle Easterners or women for attacks because they would be less likely to arouse suspicion.
Special security attention already is being focused to the nation's rail, subway and bus lines. The FBI last week sent out an intelligence bulletin to law enforcement agencies urging vigilance against suicide bombers, who have been used by terror groups worldwide to devastating effect but not so far in the United States.
Separately, Immigration and Customs Enforcement chief Michael Garcia told reporters Tuesday that some 2,300 of its agents are being deployed to assist in security for the high-profile events scheduled this summer in the United States. These include as many as 20 agents each day working with the Secret Service to protect the campaigns of President Bush (news - web sites) and Sen. John Kerry (news - web sites), the Democratic presidential candidate.
Garcia said his agency also is working to "tighten the investigative system" to ensure that terrorists do not enter the United States by way of human smuggling operations or through the vast, largely unprotected border with Canada.
Pass the Ammunition.
Agreed!
bttt
My son is with NYPD and this always scares me to death,but I should know better.
It is we average folks that should be afraid.
From a Georgian, they've already declared a state of emergency in at least 4-5 counties in preperation of this. They are moving the Nat'l/GA Guard in early for set-up.
That might not be so bad if we can keep an eye on them. If they all start to leave for vaction at the same time though.....
If Abdul will pray, to a glowing crater.
The only question is how many cities we will lose, and millions of Americans will die, before we move to the inevitable end game.
it's not the one's crossing the border i am concerned about it's the one's already here, and waiting orders, and what is being said in the mosque's every day, that is what make me mad.
But we know what the response will be all throughout the land.
--Churches will fill up again.
--TV commercials, shows, magazines will center heavily on "family" and "country" and "what is really important" and will be wiped clean of the filth and violence that have creeped back in over the last 30 months.
--Violent crime will drop.
--People will STREAM to gun shops to buy pistols, rifles and boxes of ammunition.
--Liberals and other anti-American hand wringers, the Hate America First crowd, will again feel muzzled and intimidated, but will smile nervously and go along with the flow...muttering under their powerless breaths about "Bush".
--New gun owners will apply for licenses in droves.
--American flags will be everywhere.
--People will stare at certain 7-Eleven employees and gas station owners once again with silent suspicions...7-Elevens and other shops owned by Middle Easterners will bloom with American flags....but mosques will be firebombed.
--Millions of angry and vocal and perhaps even threatening Americans will flood those reporters or entertainers with e-mail who attack Bush or in any way rationalize the terrorists' actions.
--New songs in support of patriotism will flood the airwaves, by country and other artists.
--Thousands of American young people on campuses will turn from anti-war into military volunteers.
--Bush's approval rating will soar to 90% and he will in fact be re-elected by a huge margin.
--Michael Moore and other assholes like him may initially think the coast is clear, business as usual can be done, and make a few unwise, un-American comments, but will be silenced by a popular and terrifying (to them) backlash/avalanche, and nobody will buy their books or see their documentaries.
--Hilary will be fiercely booed again in public.
In short, America will be radicalized like we have never seen before, IMHO. Particularly if poor, innocent children are killed by the enemy.
And why? Because this all happened before in recent American history and it will be the American national characteristic (as opposed to the European sentiment) to defiantly and courageously respond in such ways the next time.
Just my take. We'll rebound...we'll rebound.....as bad and as unwanted as this thing may yet be, we will rebound.
we will give them Visa
Nah. That's just one of those stink bombs kids in high school set off. Now Mr. Moore himself, that's another story.
Can you elaborate on that? Did I READ that right?
LOL, the problem is we haven't a clue out of the millions entering illegally, who they are, or WTF they are doing here.
Only a fool wouldn't be concerned.
Washington Post reports the following terror suspects are subjects of this warning:
Aafia Siddiqui
http://www.fbi.gov/terrorinfo/siddiqui.htm
Adnan G. El Shukrijumah
http://www.fbi.gov/terrorinfo/adnan.htm
Visas that Should Have Been Denied
A look at 9/11 terrorists’ visa applications. http://www.nationalreview.com/mowbray/mowbray100902.asp
LOL, ....I thought I was the only annoyed when she says "DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/Primetime/iraq_terrorthreats030320.html
The FBI issued a "be on the lookout" alert for Adnan G. El Shukrijumah, asking all law enforcement personnel to notify the bureau immediately if he is located.
Sources described El Shukrijumah as an al Qaeda field commander who trained under alleged terror financier Ramzi Binalshibh. They told ABCNEWS that the 27-year-old lived for years in Florida, and was identified by captured al Qaeda attack planner Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. Binalshibh and Mohammed are both in U.S. custody in undisclosed locations.
Mohammed also said that El Shukrijumah had been sent to the United States to carry out an operation, probably via Canada, sources said. He also may be linked to a so-called dirty bomb plot in which American Jose Padilla has been accused, they said.
The FBI said El Shukrijumah's whereabouts are unknown, but it is believed that he was in the United States shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. The bureau is trying to trace his movements since then. At one point, he lived in South Florida near some of the 9/11 hijackers, officials believe.
"El Shukrijumah is possibly involved with al Qaeda terrorist activities and, if true, poses a serious threat to U.S. citizens and interests worldwide," the FBI said in its alert.
Believed to Have Trained as Pilot
El Shukrijumah was born in Saudi Arabia and is thought to be a terror operative on the level of Atta, the lead hijacker in the Sept. 11 attacks, sources said. One source described him as a "real bad guy."
He is described as 5-foot-3 to 5-foot-5, 132 pounds, with a Mediterranean complexion, black hair and black eyes. He occasionally wears a beard.
He does not have a pilot's license registered with the Federal Aviation Administration, but that does not mean he is not a trained pilot. He is believed to have trained at a flight school in Florida. Many of the Sept. 11 hijackers also got flight training in the state.
He has a Guyanan passport, but may try to enter the United States with a passport from Saudi Arabia, Canada or Trinidad, the FBI said in the alert sent to thousands of law enforcement agencies.
El Shukrijumah planned to return to South Florida in late 2001, but when the FBI interviewed his father at his home in Miramar, Fla., after Sept. 11, 2001, his mother warned him to remain outside the United States, saying she feared he would be arrested if he came back to the country, according to the FBI alert.
FBI agents checked out Masjid Al Hijrah mosque in Miramir, Fla., for possible links to suspected al Queda terrorist Adnan G. El Shukrijumah. (Marianne Armshaw/AP Photo)
According to El Shukrijumah's father, he is living in Morocco, where he teaches English at a school, but the family does not know how to contact him.
El Shukrijumah is the third person this week that the FBI warned law enforcement to look for. The FBI has also issued "seeking information" alerts for Dr. Mohammed Khan, 33, who was born in Pakistan, and Aafia Siddiqui, 31, who was also born in Pakistan and may be there now.
Let me find the link.
Your long list was right on target. That is how America would respond.
All, which makes me thing that Al Qaeda will NOT attack America this summer or even this fall. Their goal now is to disengage us -- not engage us. That's the only way they can get Kerry elected.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.