[JYO] U.S. Raises Terror Alert Level to Orange



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Breaking News: U.S. Raises Terror Alert Level to Orange. More Details to 
Come.WASHINGTON (May 20) - President Bush reviewed whether to raise the 
federal terror alert level as the FBI warned that the bombings in Saudi 
Arabia indicate that al-Qaida could launch new attacks in the United States.
Bush convened a meeting on Tuesday of his homeland security council at the 
White House, attended by Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge.''We have 
concerns about whether or not there are threats that go beyond Saudi 
Arabia,'' White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said. ''These matters are 
being looked at as we speak.''He said ''chatter'' picked up by U.S. agencies 
suggested new attacks were possible.''We've seen this before and we want to 
do everything we can to be vigilant,'' Fleischer said on NBC's ''Today'' 
program.A spokeswoman at the Department of Homeland Security said earlier 
Tuesday there were no plans to raise the domestic terror alert level from 
''yellow,'' an elevated level in the mid-range of the five-tier warning 
scale. U.S. counterterrorism officials have said the bulk of the intelligence 
on al-Qaida operations points to possible strikes overseas.Before going to 
the White House, Ridge made his first-ever appearance before the new House 
Homeland Security Committee. He was not asked about the new threats or the 
possibility of raising the federal alert status and declined to take 
questions from reporters on his way out.The FBI, in an advisory to state and 
local law enforcement agencies, said the al-Qaida terrorist organization 
remains active and could hit U.S. and Western targets overseas as well as 
those on American soil.The bombings of Western residential compounds in 
Riyadh show that al-Qaida ''remains active and highly capable,'' the FBI 
bulletin said. Fleischer said the United States has concluded that al-Qaida 
was responsible for the Saudi attacks.The U.S. intelligence community 
''assesses that attacks against U.S. and Western targets overseas are likely; 
attacks in the United States cannot be ruled out,'' said the FBI bulletin, 
which was described to The Associated Press Monday by federal law enforcement 
officials on condition of anonymity.The FBI is assisting Saudi authorities in 
the investigation of the bombings on three Saudi housing compounds that 
killed 34 people, including eight Americans. Al-Qaida also is suspected in 
another series of bomb attacks Friday in Casablanca, Morocco, that killed 41 
people.The bulletin says the Saudi attacks featured ''traditional hallmarks 
of al-Qaida operations'' such as precise planning, surveillance and 
coordination among several teams. Each bombing involved a sedan followed by a 
truck or sport utility vehicle laden with explosives, with gunmen used to 
attack guards and overcome security measures.These tactics show that al-Qaida 
has ''a highly refined approach to suicide bombings'' that show an increased 
capability when compared with, for example, the 1998 truck bombings of U.S. 
embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.The FBI says the attacks also show that 
al-Qaida appears to be adapting its target list to so-called ''soft targets'' 
that are more lightly guarded than government or military installations. The 
FBI has warned before that terrorists could strike apartment buildings, 
hotels, restaurants and businesses.Similar attacks blamed on al-Qaida include 
the October 2002 bombing of a nightclub district in Bali, Indonesia, which 
killed almost 200 people, and the suicide bombings of an Israeli-owned beach 
hotel in Kenya, which killed 12. In the Kenya attack, two missiles narrowly 
missed an airliner carrying Israeli vacationers.''Further, these attacks 
suggest that al-Qaida may be deterred by enhancing security and changes in 
the security countermeasures adopted by potential targets,'' the bulletin 
said.The FBI bulletin was sent to law enforcement agencies on Friday. 
Officials said Monday they have no credible information about a specific 
threat from al-Qaida, nor has anything occurred since the bulletin was issued 
indicating any attack was imminent.State and local police are urged to 
redouble their vigilance, especially for indications that operatives may be 
carrying out surveillance or attempting to acquire explosives or detonation 
devices. The FBI has previously warned that al-Qaida members could pose as 
tourists, homeless people or artists in carrying out surveillance.

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