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.
Let us not forget Michael Moore's film, as well.
The terrorists and their RAT sympathizers will be surprised to find that another attack will guarantee the president's re-election. This ain't freakin' Spain!
bttt
"And we can blame the media of this country and a few well placed democrats for it when it happens."
I could not agree with you more!!
Is that the map from Steven Emerson's excellent book?
Of Clinton...? The Cold War...? I think better days are ahead.
Another atrocity here will galvanize most Americans again, and expose the whining anti-American libs for what they are. If it's big enough any Muslims still here might want to think about getting out fast (unfortunately this includes a very nice couple I know, but it also includes some I Just Do Not Trust At All). It will be time to Clean House.
I agree with you. If we're hit again, the president is re-elected by a huge margin.
Bingo!
Let them try. Bring it on...
I'm double dog daring them to actually try something.
If they do and are successful, then we will have no problem unleashing the dogs of hell upon them. If they try something are thwarted, then "W" will have more ammo to bit*h-slap the Rats around with...either way it's BUSH 04 in a landslide.
We MUST not pussy foot around this summer. If some Mooslimbs happen to get their robes in a snit...tough luck!
Ya I know. But I'm in a really evil mood right now, so I'm not very funny. Maybe tomorrow...
Anyone know what time tomorrows press conference with Ashcroft & Mueller will be?
Lock and load.
All of us should. I do not have the slightest doubt that I could construct a bomb and place it undetected in most public places. It's not that hard.
Frustrating, isn't it. Most of the time I just shrug off the media's Leftist bias, but we're living through a time when their bias can get us all killed. In fact, in such a critical time, we can't afford to just let it go as garden variety political bias. We need to start calling it what it is: sedition.
I think I'll let that vision lull me to sleep tonight.
They always mean it. But as the President says, they only have to get lucky once. In contrast, we have to get lucky in countering them 100% of the time.
Maybe the threat level will be raised at tomorrow's press conference. Maybe not. The administration has been hit over the head about the whys and wherefors of the threat level every time they've raised it. I think now they are concerned about the "cry wolf" syndrome.Yeah, it does make sense. Either way, just BET the Democrats will be wringing their hands over this and claiming Bush is doing too MUCH and too LITTLE just to cover their political arses between now and November .....
It will be interesting (depressing, gauling, blood boiling) to hear what hitlery and fat teddy say about this.
My bet is that IF they tried that here, before the election, it would create a landslide and a mandate for President Bush to retaliate. The ragheads would be very surprised that the US electorate doesn't cower like Spain's.
(Whether we WOULD retaliate is another story...)
Like travelers using Mexico's innovative tour guides?
or through the vast, largely unprotected border with Canada.
Or the vast, largely unprotected border with Mexico?
Good luck on catching the terrorists.
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