U.S. Terror Alert Raised to 'Orange' Level

21/05/2003| IslamWeb

The Bush administration raised the national terror alert level to 'orange' amid fears that a wave of attacks overseas would spread to the United States. Officials with the Department of Homeland Security said the threats were not specific to location, time or method of attack. The warning sets in motion new security measures for the federal government and advises cities, states and businesses to take extra steps as well. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge encouraged governors and mayors to deploy additional police "and particularly discussed with them the venues in which there will be large public gatherings," said Asa Hutchinson, Ridge's undersecretary for border and transportation security. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said George Bush's homeland security council decided to raise the alert during a meeting at the White House. After the session, Bush was informed of the council's decision - which is binding and takes immediate effect - by chief of staff Andrew Card at 1:50 p.m. EDT. The alert was raised after top administration and counterterrorism officials reviewed intelligence reports suggesting domestic terrorist attacks were possible. The new level, orange, marks a high threat of terrorist attacks. It's the second highest level on the five-color scale. The previous level, yellow, marked an elevated risk. Counterterrorism officials had previously described the bulk of the terrorism intelligence as pointing toward attacks overseas. Officials believe Al-Qaeda has launched a series of strikes, loosely coordinated by the organization's top leadership, aimed at demonstrating Al-Qaeda is still viable. They believe last attacks in Morocco and Saudi are part of this. The administration has raised the terror alert level one notch three times previously, setting off a flurry of increased security measures by cities, states and businesses. Each time, the level was lowered back to yellow after a few weeks. During the alerts, no domestic attacks were apparently attempted, leading some to question whether the orange alerts do anything more than frighten the public and cost taxpayer dollars, particularly in parts of the country where terrorist attacks are unlikely. However, Homeland Security officials say heightened security can stop attacks without authorities realizing it - a would-be terrorist may pass on striking a target when he sees the extra guards. The last time it was raised was during the Iraq war. It went down after most hostilities ended. Speaking to reporters while administration officials were considering raising the level, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner, R-Va., said "I think Americans should give heed and pay attention to what they decide." "We do not know the specificity of where a strike could or could not come, but I think prudent measures are being taken by the president on down, by his administration," Warner said. The alert system is designed to guide law enforcement agencies, businesses and the general public in their security decisions, and it is mostly up to local governments and companies to decide what measures to enact. It is driven by world events and information gathered by U.S. intelligence agencies, such as monitored communications between terrorists. This "chatter" sometimes spikes before an attack. Officials say they want to take the alert level to orange only after receiving specific, credible information that attacks are planned. "We have concerns about whether or not there are threats that go beyond Saudi Arabia," Fleischer said earlier. "These matters are being looked at as we speak. We do have concerns about terrorists doing what they can to continue to inflict harm." The FBI, in an advisory sent Friday to state and local law enforcement agencies, had said the Al-Qaeda remains active and could hit U.S. and Western targets overseas as well as those on American soil. The agency sent out another version of the bulletin earlier Tuesday. It repeated the same warning, but also said the FBI had reason to believe the Saudi Arabia and Morocco attacks were a possible prelude to U.S. strikes, according to law enforcement officials speaking 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-Qaeda 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-Qaeda 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. **PHOTO CAPTION*** The California Army National Guard stands at Fort Point beneath the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Tuesday, May 20, 2003. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)