Nation Returns to Orange Alert

May 20, 2003

WASHINGTON — The United States went back on orange alert Tuesday afternoon, indicating a high risk of a terror attack throughout the nation.

The decision was made not long after the FBI warned local law enforcement officials to be on the alert for a possible terror attack within the U.S. The FBI bulletin was described as a continuation of the one issued late Friday, which warned Americans of possible terror attacks abroad.

Tuesday's move to orange alert marks the fourth time it has been raised to that level.

The alert was raised from yellow -- or "elevated" -- one year after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and again on Feb. 7, after intelligence reports indicated an increased likelihood that Al Qaeda terrorists might try to attack Americans in the United States or abroad in or around the end of the Hajj, the Muslim religious period that ended in mid-February. Soon after that period was over, the alert was lowered back to yellow.

The alert was raised for a third time on March 17, when President Bush gave Saddam Hussein 48 hours to get out of Iraq or face military action by a coalition of the willing.

It remained at orange during Operation Iraqi Freedom and went back to yellow on April 16.

The alert level was raised again on Tuesday after Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge went to the White House to meet with Bush and the Homeland Security Council to discuss "threat and intelligence information."

The decision was made after the president was presented with the recommendation for an increase, a senior administration official said on condition of anonymity.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer had said earlier in the day that the Bush administration wants to remain "vigilant."

DHS officials initially provided few specific reasons for the alert, which will set in motion a series of security measures around the federal government. It also advises cities, states and businesses to take extra security measures.

When asked whether the U.S. military would boost its alertness overseas, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said "we do things not on a random basis but on a regular basis."

He said the military has a policy not to announce when it goes on an increased threat level.

U.S. officials told Fox News that they wanted to be absolutely sure the threats were credible before they raised the alert status because the move could have a harmful impact on the nation's economy, especially during the upcoming Memorial Day weekend.

Officials were concerned that Americans wouldn't travel over the weekend if the threat level were changed.

There is also a massive expense to law enforcement agencies that have to consider issues such as overtime, which could have a negative effect on the economy.

One law enforcement official told Fox News that Tuesday's FBI message went out because the intelligence community is hearing "chatter" that indicates there is a concern of an Al Qaeda attack within the U.S.

Last week's terror attacks in Saudi Arabia and Morocco show that Al Qaeda is desperate -- diminished but not yet destroyed, the official said.

"We could see more attacks from Al Qaeda either in Europe or inside the U.S. in coming days," a U.S. official told Fox News.

"There is more concern about this information that we're getting because it is coming from quality sources ... a number of them … there is a legitimate cause for concern," the official said.

The source said the information is more solid than that which led to raising the terror level in the past.

Last week's terror attacks in Saudi Arabia and Morocco "may be a prelude to an attack on the U.S.," the FBI said in its bulletin on Tuesday. But the agency said it has no specific information indicating a target or a planned attack.

The FBI is helping Saudi authorities investigate last week's homicide bombings on three Riyadh housing compounds in which 25 people, including eight Americans, were killed. Al Qaeda is thought to be responsible for that bombing, as well as the bomb attacks Friday in Casablanca that killed 41 people.

In the warning issued Friday, the FBI said Usama bin Laden's Al Qaeda terror network "likely" may be planning attacks against American and Western targets and "attacks in the U.S. cannot be ruled out."

It said the homicide car bombings in the Saudi capital indicate "further refinement in Al Qaeda operational capabilities.''

U.S. counterterrorism officials have said the bulk of the intelligence points to possible strikes overseas.

Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Washington, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, told reporters in Riyadh that "there is chatter, a high level of chatter regionally and in other international spots" about possible new attacks in Saudi Arabia or America.

Fox News' Bret Baier, James Rosen, Catherine Loper, Ian McCaleb and Anna Stolley and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,87370,00.html