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| Threat level highest since 9/11 |
| 2004-07-14 |
| The terrorist threat against the United States in the run-up to the November election is as serious as at any time since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, acting CIA Director John McLaughlin said on Tuesday. "This is about as serious a threat environment as I have seen since 9/11," said McLaughlin, the deputy director who took over on Sunday pending appointment of a permanent successor to Director George Tenet who resigned amid criticism of the agency’s performance. "The quality of the information we have now is such that we have high confidence that the nation needs to be on guard," McLaughlin told Reuters in a telephone interview. He said the threats were not pinned specifically to the Democratic and Republican political conventions this summer but to the whole period before the November presidential election. "It’s related to this period during which the country is exercising its democracy, it’s this period particularly in the run-up to the election, but it’s always a mistake in the counterterrorism business to focus uniquely on a date," McLaughlin said. The attackers would strike when they are ready and not because of a specific date, he said. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, a Kansas Republican, earlier on Tuesday told reporters that "the chatter and the texture of the chatter is the highest it’s been since 9/11." Chatter refers to communications among terrorism suspects. "There’s a lot of members taking second thoughts about attending conventions," Roberts said, but added that he planned to attend. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge renewed public warnings last week of possible attacks by al Qaeda in the United States this year, but offered no details and said there were no plans to raise the terror threat level. "Credible reporting now indicates that al Qaeda is moving forward with its plans to carry out a large-scale attack in the United States in an effort to disrupt our democratic process," Ridge said. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #14 Spain & The Philippines both graduates of The Chamberlain School for Advance Geostrategic Appeasement ..with total dishonour ... |
| Posted by: Mark Espinola 2004-07-14 7:20:07 PM |
| #13 I agree, if an attack happens and it gets out that they had some incling we'd hear Bush knew endlessly. They have to cover their butts and try to do their best. |
| Posted by: yank 2004-07-14 5:37:53 PM |
| #12 Unfortunately, he and Ridge, Ashcroft, Bush, Cheney et. al. have to keep pushing this thing up the flagpole everytime they get even a nibble. No one, because the politics and incessant media harping, can hold back and decide to be silent while waiting to spring a trap before the election and come across as the smartest move since James Bond foiled SMERSH. We have created a monstrous wheel of fate that has all kind of possible political negatives if we prevent anything from happening. |
| Posted by: Jack is Back! 2004-07-14 2:31:55 PM |
| #11 (Thanks, DC. Bad assumption on my part.) |
| Posted by: eLarson 2004-07-14 12:03:08 PM |
| #10 I agree with Badanov. I think the Olympics is in far more jeapordy than the US elections since Europe has more open borders, more Islamic immigrants, more PC policies, and has shown more of a willingness to cave to terrorism. I expect a truck or car bomb targetted at or near a hotel around the media. Someplace with lower security and higher visibilty (thanks to the media). I also expect roundups of the usual suspects beforehand to screw up planning and probably lead to the attack being stopped or aborted. |
| Posted by: yank 2004-07-14 11:56:08 AM |
| #9 (to all non-computer types '!' in C++ means 'not' so 'safer != safe' means 'Safer does not equal safe', ) |
| Posted by: Dcreeper 2004-07-14 11:51:39 AM |
| #8 Chris - Deep, man, deep. Think on this: safer != safe. |
| Posted by: eLarson 2004-07-14 9:35:19 AM |
| #7 I believe that Al Qaeda will not attack at all this summer and fall. I think Al Qaeda is so badly damaged they will be unable to carry out anything more than small arms attacks. It is good to see the CIA on the job, but I really think that Al Qaeda was knocked back on their heels and they may well never recover enough the launch another spectacular attack. One burnt out tail lamp, one wrong right turn after stop, one missed rent payment, one beaten hooker and an Al Qaeda operation can come unraveled. |
| Posted by: badanov 2004-07-14 7:43:01 AM |
| #6 Yes, Chris, it IS safer. Any time a homicidal maniac is out of commission it's better. Or maybe you think he should still be in power, killing 30,000 people a year. Perhaps you'd like it better if Libya was still building nukes and Khan was still selling nuclear technology? No one has ever said that terrorists aren't still out there gunning for us. We know they are and Bush has been saying so for a long, long time. The leftists are already planning their response to the next attack, aren't they? "Bush lied. We aren't safe. Let's surrender." |
| Posted by: RMcLeod 2004-07-14 4:04:27 AM |
| #5 Did not Bush say the world is safer now after the fall of Saddam? |
| Posted by: Chris 2004-07-14 3:46:30 AM |
| #4 Somebody's lobbying for the DCI job and needs some PR, me thinks. |
| Posted by: Capt America 2004-07-14 3:08:15 AM |
| #3 Hey everybody, we've all known that the cadres of brigades have been allowed to live amongst us. They will hit when they are ready. After they do I hope America will take a deeper look into PC politics reagarding our islamic neighbors. The only problem I have is whether they have the knockout blow they hope for. I don't think so. I think the attack will be relitively lame. But even if it is lame I hope our country will take it as the last straw. |
| Posted by: Lucky 2004-07-14 1:53:34 AM |
| #2 Next up, US voters. Candy-coat those words, friends... |
| Posted by: .com 2004-07-14 1:03:00 AM |
| #1 Thanks, Spanish voters. |
| Posted by: someone 2004-07-14 12:59:44 AM |