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F.B.I. Issues and Retracts Urgent Terrorism Bulletin
NY Times ^ | May 29, 2004 | ERIC LICHTBLAU

Posted on 05/28/2004 9:14:33 PM PDT by FairOpinion

WASHINGTON, May 28 - The F.B.I. issued an urgent bulletin to several cities on Friday that warned of the prospect of an imminent terrorist attack but retracted the alert hours later, after the intelligence proved unfounded, officials said.

The alert went to law enforcement officials in two or three cities to warn of intelligence that indicated the prospect of an attack in the next 24 hours, officials said. Officials would not give the names of the cities.

A federal official in New York, when asked about the warning, said he was unaware of the city's having received any such notification.

A law enforcement official at another city, who insisted that he and the city not be named, said authorities there had received a call late in the day from the Federal Bureau of Investigation with an alert on the possibility of an "imminent" attack there. Later, the FBI called to withdraw the warning. The official, citing questions about the credibility of the terrorist intelligence from the bureau, said, "It's getting harder and harder to defend them."

The bureau said that "given the potential imminence of the threat," it contacted the officials immediately, even as the reliability of the threat intelligence was being investigated. Further analysis found that "the original interpretation of imminence was unfounded" and that the potential target was probably outside the United States, the bureau said.

Some law enforcement officials described the alert as a draft, not to be disseminated. Other officials defended releasing the information.

"This was a threat that was serious and it was of concern," a senior law enforcement official said. "There was a simultaneous effort to vet the information and disseminate it to the proper people. You like to have the luxury of time, but sometimes you just don't."

The alert was issued two days after Attorney General John Ashcroft warned at a news conference that the United States had received credible intelligence that Al Qaeda was planning to attack the United States in coming months. Some officials and experts questioned the credibility and the timing of the announcement, noting that much of the information had been widely disseminated.

Late Friday, apparently trying to counter the perception of a split, Mr. Ashcroft and Mr. Ridge put out a joint statement saying that "we are working together" to deter attacks. Citing high-profile summer events, the statement said, "Credible intelligence from multiple sources indicates that Al Qaeda plans to attempt an attack on the United States during this period."


TOPICS: Front Page News; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: alert; alqaeda; attack; fbi; imminent; intelligence; terror; terrorists; threat
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Well, I hope it was unfounded.
1 posted on 05/28/2004 9:14:34 PM PDT by FairOpinion
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To: FairOpinion

Crying wolf to cover their butts.


2 posted on 05/28/2004 9:16:28 PM PDT by TADSLOS (Right Wing Infidel since 1954)
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To: FairOpinion

What cities?


3 posted on 05/28/2004 9:23:05 PM PDT by Selene
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Comment #4 Removed by Moderator

To: FairOpinion

Ashcroft needs to chill.


5 posted on 05/28/2004 9:25:36 PM PDT by OneTimeLurker
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To: Selene

They deliberately didn't release that info -- probably don't want to panic people into a mass exodus.


6 posted on 05/28/2004 9:25:59 PM PDT by FairOpinion (If you are not voting for Bush, you are voting for the terrorists.)
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To: FairOpinion
Sounds more like someone got caught. Again.

/john

7 posted on 05/28/2004 9:31:42 PM PDT by JRandomFreeper (Soy el jefe de la cocina. No disguta conmigo.)
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To: FairOpinion
relax. This is from the New York Times. In other news, the NYT is still proud of the Pulitzers it won in the 1930's for a series of articles about what a nice guy Joseph Stalin was. A long tradition of journalistic excellence...
8 posted on 05/28/2004 9:34:10 PM PDT by Bernard
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To: JRandomFreeper
But only terrorist are capable of 'testing' our system. We don't have anyone smart enough on our side to 'test' their system on a double-bank, #2 off of #3 in the corner pocket. Really. If they need cable, they'll call us.

/john

9 posted on 05/28/2004 9:34:23 PM PDT by JRandomFreeper (Soy el jefe de la cocina. No disguta conmigo.)
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To: FairOpinion

Ashcroft and Ridge have a huge responsibility on their shoulders. We shouldn't be surprised if some mistakes are made.

Who would want to be in their position to make that judgment call whether to issue urgent alerts or not? If we were in on some of the intelligence reports they get, probably all of us would have the whole nation under urgent alert everyday.


10 posted on 05/28/2004 9:44:20 PM PDT by Cedar
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To: FairOpinion
Where the hell is Ridge? Isn't he supposed to be the head of "Homeland Security"? GW's post-9-11 national security feel-good session is in serious need of a reality check. I would feel a lot better if Ridge was busy under cover rooting out illegal immigrants (terrorists included), but this would of course be a joke.

In fact, IMO, GW's entire Homeland Security program is a farce. For example, since 9-11, how many pilots are armed? How many additional border guards have been placed? ow else has our border security been enhanced? Of course Afghanistan and Iraq have been briliant campaigns (until the time that the idiot PC police took over), but when are we going to do something about OUR BORDER SECURITY? Without this, everything else GW does is nothing but perfume on a pig.

11 posted on 05/28/2004 9:45:55 PM PDT by Mad_Tom_Rackham (Any day you wake up is a good day.)
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To: Cedar

Better safe than sorry.


12 posted on 05/28/2004 9:46:40 PM PDT by WestCoastGal (Better stand tall when they're calling you out ~ Don't bend ,don't break, baby, don't back down ~)
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To: FairOpinion

Damed if they do, damed if they don't. IIRC wasn't it the 9/11 Commission complaining about the FBI not notifying the proper officials of a threat? I wouldn't want to be in their shoes in this POLITICAL SEASON. As if "The New York Times" should be complaining about anyone making a mistake or getting information wrong.

I am afraid, if I was in the FBI, that I would be tempted to contact TERRORISTS and point them in the direction of the UN and THE NEW YORK TIMES.


13 posted on 05/28/2004 9:54:48 PM PDT by kcvl
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To: FairOpinion
More concocted "news". No source, no names, no nothing.
14 posted on 05/28/2004 10:08:11 PM PDT by tallhappy (Juntos Podemos!)
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To: Mad_Tom_Rackham
For example, since 9-11, how many pilots are armed?

More than before.

How many additional border guards have been placed?

More than before.

How else has our border security been enhanced?

Can't say, exactly. But it's better. Don't mess with Texas.

/john

15 posted on 05/28/2004 10:08:22 PM PDT by JRandomFreeper (Soy el jefe de la cocina. No disguta conmigo.)
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To: FairOpinion
This "Homeland Security" stuff is a joke. It is little more than an excuse to expand the power of the federal gov't and it's control over our lives.

Your gov't cannot protect you, nor do they have a legal duty to do so (you can't sue them if they fail to protect you). Anyway, if they wanted to do so, the first thing they would do is to seal off the borders to prevent illegals from coming here. Securing one large outer perimeter is much easier than attempting to secure tens of thousands of smaller, interior ones.

Since they have failed to do so (and apparently have no desire to do so) people are ultimately responsible for their own safety. As such, I avoid large crowds (which is easy since I don't like people anyway). In the event of a chemical attack, I plan to get outside and simply head upwind. In the event of something more "personal", my Mossberg and my SIG are up to the task of dealing with it.

16 posted on 05/28/2004 10:20:33 PM PDT by Mulder (Fight the future)
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To: Mad_Tom_Rackham
In fact, IMO, GW's entire Homeland Security program is a farce. For example, since 9-11, how many pilots are armed?

If I remember correctly it was reported a few days ago that 1000 pilots have been through the process and are armed. More are in the pipeline.

17 posted on 05/28/2004 10:24:09 PM PDT by Texasforever (When Kerry was asked what kind of tree he would like to be he answered…. Al Gore.)
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To: WestCoastGal

I just went over to Debka -- they seem to think it's about a "dirty bomb" or chem/bio attack, so I can see how we would over-react, rather than take a chance of ignoring a warning.

Here is the particular excerpt from Debka:

"DEBKAfile’s counter-terror sources reveal that US counter-terrorist authorities are focusing on tracking down two key suspects: a 32-year old Pakistani woman called Aafaya Siddiqui, doctor of neurology who attended a university in the Boston area, and Adnan G. Al Shukrijmah, an al Qaeda activist known to have spent time in Florida.

Our sources add that American and foreign counter-terror and intelligence agencies are also hunting for Midaat Mursi, known as Abu Khabab, prominent member of al Qaeda’s operational partner, the Egyptian Jihad Islami, who is considered the organization’s top expert on radiological bombs. Mursi heads a number of terrorist rings who have been instructed to infiltrate the United States through Canada for a dirty bomb attack. They may have made the crossing already.

The price on the head of Musab Zarqawi, Osama bin Laden’s top operative in Iraq, may be raised from $10m to $25m after he was identified as the terrorist who beheaded Nicholas Berg. All his nets are the subject of intensive search, some composed of Saudis and Chechens trained for chemical or biological attacks and buried somewhere in Europe for some time. Efforts are also underway to locate underground terrorist cells of al Qaeda’s Far Eastern ally, Jemaa al Islamiyah, which are thought to be on their way to seize a merchant freighter or supertanker for use as a massive seaborne bomb vessel.

Several sleeper cells are also known to have infiltrated the United States in ship’s containers in 2003 and early this year. Some of these containers were spotted at important US ports with signs of occupation by men with weapons and explosives who were never caught. They may have been decoys to distract attention from landings of large parties of armed terrorists on American shores, whom intelligence sources believe headed undetected for safe houses inland to await orders to strike.

These are others are some of the unidentified enemies that Ashcroft and Mueller will ask Americans to watch out for this summer. "

http://www.debka.com/article.php?aid=854


18 posted on 05/28/2004 10:33:07 PM PDT by FairOpinion (If you are not voting for Bush, you are voting for the terrorists.)
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To: Mad_Tom_Rackham
It must really bother you that the President doesn't give you briefings on every single thing he does.

Neither does the Border Patrol, FAA, Customs, FBI, CIA, Homeland Security etc.

My ex-husband is a federal agent and they have been making MAJOR changes in all areas that they don't announce to the world.

I know of several border protection policies that are NOT public knowledge. These are new. (no, I cannot tell you.)

Just because no one told you doesn't mean they don't exist.
19 posted on 05/28/2004 10:47:40 PM PDT by texasflower (in the event of the rapture.......the Bush White House will be unmanned)
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To: kcvl
I am afraid, if I was in the FBI, that I would be tempted to contact TERRORISTS and point them in the direction of the UN and THE NEW YORK TIMES.

I wish I had said that!
20 posted on 05/28/2004 10:49:12 PM PDT by texasflower (in the event of the rapture.......the Bush White House will be unmanned)
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