Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge is expected to announce Sunday the raising of the U.S. security level from yellow (elevated) to orange (high), an official told CNN. Ridge’s announcement is expected at 1:30 p.m. EST, the official said.
CNN is about to televise Ridge
A Department of Homeland Security spokesman said the U.S. intelligence community has received a "substantial increase" in the volume of threat-related intelligence reports. Ridge is expected to discuss concerns about continued al Qaeda threats to the United States, the department announced. Yellow is mid-level on the nation’s five-color warning system and orange is the second highest threat, lower only than red (severe). The system was put into place after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. There are "credible reports" of the possibility of attacks against the homeland during the holiday season and "significant concern" about al Qaeda’s continued desire to use aircraft as weapons, a homeland security spokesman said. U.S. officials were also concerned that one of al Qaeda’s top objectives is to acquire and develop chemical, biological and radiological weapons. The U.S. last raised the domestic terrorism threat level to orange on May 20, after suicide bombings in Saudi Arabia and Morocco blamed on al Qaeda. That alert lasted 10 days before dropping back to the yellow "elevated" level.
U.S. officials said Friday that they were assessing the credibility of intelligence regarding possible terrorist attacks against the United States, but said then that there was no evidence an attack was imminent or any indication of a specific target. Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Indiana and a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told CNN’s "Late Edition" Sunday that U.S. officials have noticed an increase in the volume of communications traffic among suspected terrorists. "The greatest risk is probably abroad, but they would like nothing better than to have an attack here at home," said Bayh. The State Department on Wednesday said it has authorized non-essential diplomats and families of U.S. officials to leave Saudi Arabia because of ongoing security concerns, and urged Americans to defer travel to the Magic kingdom. "My guess is that our government is taking this very seriously, both in Saudi Arabia and here," Sen. Richard Lugar, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told "Late Edition." |
