Al-Qaeda is Targeting "Soft" Target Interests, Such as Commercial Buildings, Energy, Financial, and Transportation Sectors

February 8, 2003

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?

Make a plan for contacting family members in an emergency
Learn about different types of attacks so you will know what to do in an emergency
Do not cancel events or travel plans
Be especially aware of your surroundings and the events happening around you
Source: Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Citing credible threats that al Qaeda might be planning attacks on American targets, the U.S. government raised the national color-coded threat level Friday to orange, indicating a "high" risk of a terrorist attack.

The change is only the second time the alert level has risen above yellow, an "elevated" risk, since the system was put in place after the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Attorney General John Ashcroft said the reports indicated that so-called "soft" targets -- those more lightly guarded, such as apartments, hotels, sports arenas and amusement parks -- are at an increased risk.

"The intelligence community has also indicated that al Qaeda may seek economic targets, transportation and energy, and targets symbolic of America's power," the attorney general said. "[The reports] demonstrate al Qaeda's interest in carrying out chemical, radiological and biological attacks."

Sources said recent information suggests that al Qaeda might be further along than previously thought in procuring elements to make a so-called "dirty bomb" -- a non-nuclear device that would spew radiation upon exploding.

Recent intelligence suggests that terrorists could target sites on the East Coast, law enforcement sources said, adding that intercepted messages mention subways and hotels but no particular city.

The sources also said soft targets in Saudi Arabia could be potential sites.

Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said the information "suggested an attack on the United States and the United States' interests -- both within the United States and outside -- is imminent."

The FBI also asked on Friday for the public's help in locating Mohammed Sher Mohammad Khan. Although the agency says it has no specific information that the Pakistani man is connected to any potential terrorist activities, it wants to question him based on information developed in ongoing investigations.

The information on Khan was part of the decision to raise the alert level but not the only factor, an FBI official said.

"This decision for an increased threat designation condition is based on specific intelligence received and analyzed by the full intelligence community," Ashcroft said. "This information has been corroborated by multiple sources."

The State Department is considering reducing staff in four Middle Eastern countries in response to a "clear uptick in threats" and as war with Iraq becomes increasingly likely, the State Department said Friday. An "authorized departure" would permit nonessential diplomats and families of all embassy staff in Israel, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon to leave their posts at the government's expense.

In addition, the Joint Chiefs of Staff were expected to raise security measures at U.S. military bases across the United States by the end of the day Friday.

"There is a large spike in threat reporting that shows al Qaeda cells are possibly close to [being] ready to launch attacks," a senior U.S. military official said.

"Specific and credible" information suggests that al Qaeda might try to pull off a large-scale attack in the United States in the next couple of weeks, U.S. officials said, adding the information was gathered from several continents.

"They communicate with each other about really big things" they hope to achieve, a knowledgeable official said.

Ashcroft cited recent reports that al Qaeda cells are "still determined to attack Americans" and could be planning strikes coinciding with the Muslim Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, as well as recent arrests in Europe of suspects allegedly planning chemical attacks.

"Recent reporting indicates an increased likelihood that al Qaeda may attempt to attack Americans in the United States and/or abroad in or around the end of the Hajj, a Muslim religious period ending mid-February 2003," Ashcroft said.

Alert triggers precautions

Ashcroft, Ridge and FBI Director Robert Mueller said the elevated risk will trigger security precautions at federal, state and local levels.

"Specific protective measures will be taken by all federal agencies, both to decrease vulnerabilities and in some cases to deter," Ridge said.

State officials said security will be increased at main bridges and tunnels. They said they would be calling on the private sector to heighten security at key pieces of infrastructure such as nuclear power plants, railroad lines and ports.

Ridge has contacted officials in 13 sectors of private industry that control 85 percent of the nation's critical infrastructure, including energy, finance and transportation. Officials said they were particularly concerned about chemical, biological and radiological threats.

Sources said this week that the FBI is watching a handful of people believed to be Iraqi intelligence officers in the United States. At least several hundred Iraqis living in the United States who are thought to be supporters of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein are under surveillance.

The change in the terror alert level follows a worldwide caution the State Department released Thursday that adds -- for the first time -- concerns about possible chemical and biological attacks to the usual warning about attacks such as suicide bombs.

State Department officials said arrests in Britain of terrorism suspects with the chemical agent ricin, in France with cyanide compounds and in Spain with other chemicals prompted the caution, and Ashcroft cited those arrests in announcing the higher threat level.

Ridge: Stick to routines

Ridge told people to be diligent, aware and alert but to not change their routines.

"We do recommend that individuals and families in the days ahead take some time to prepare for emergency," Ridge said.

Ashcroft and Ridge said they would not recommend that public events be canceled but said security will be more intense at those activities. National Basketball Association Commissioner David Stern said security is already high for events connected to this weekend's All-Star game in Atlanta, Georgia.

"I'm actually glad or sad to say that we planned the security for this event, with the prospects of war, at the orange level," Stern said. "The All-Star activities are going forward."

The color-coded threat level system has been at yellow since its inception except for a short time around last September 11, when it was raised to orange.

CNN correspondents Andrea Koppel, Sheila MacVicar, Barbara Starr, Mike Brooks, Kelli Arena, Dana Bash and Jeanne Meserve contributed to this report.

http://asia.cnn.com/2003/US/02/07/threat.level/