[JYO] U.S. Raises Terror Alert Level to Orange
- From: FlyboyEd@xxxxxxx
- To: jyo@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 20 May 2003 14:50:29 EDT
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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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