Ashcroft: Plot to attack U.S. is far along
Attorney General John Ashcroft said in Miami that a terrorist attack on U.S. soil is likely before the presidential election and that vigilance in South Florida is high.
BY JAY WEAVER
jweaver@herald.com
Attorney General John Ashcroft issued a warning in Miami on Wednesday that the terrorists behind the deadly assaults of Sept. 11, 2001, are ``between 75 and 90 percent complete with their planning for a major attack against the United States this year.''
But he offered no specifics.
Ashcroft recalled the significance of South Florida in al Qaeda's operations: 14 of the 19 hijacking suspects lived in local homes and motels as they plotted the 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and the Pentagon.
The region, with its ports, airports and millions of visitors, cannot be ruled out as a possible target or base of operations, he said.
''In South Florida, we're very much aware of not only the target value of such an important area, but also the fact that it could be a place where others would be in support of activities to be undertaken at another target,'' Ashcroft said at a news conference at the U.S. attorney's office in Miami.
``With that in mind, we are at a high level of intensity.''
Ashcroft, who has drawn criticism for some of his actions in the U.S. war on terrorism, met with local, state and federal law-enforcement officials who are part of the Southern District of Florida Anti-Terrorism Advisory Council. It consists of 158 agencies, from the Aventura Police Department to the Broward Sheriff's Office to the FBI.
Ashcroft met later Wednesday with officials in Tallahassee as part of a cross-country tour to visit with 93 U.S. attorneys' offices and boost the government's anti-terrorism campaign.
Miami Police Chief John Timoney, who recalled being a vocal critic of the U.S. government's sharing of post-9/11 information when he was chief in Philadelphia, praised the cooperation.
He said the terrorist threats cited by Ashcroft were authentic, based on his review of intelligence information.
''I have been privy to information I can't discuss,'' said Timoney, who sits on the antiterrorism advisory council. ``But there is a certain amount of specificity in the [al Qaeda] chatter in regards to what people are trying to do, and it's enough to concern me.''
U.S. Attorney Marcos Jimenez, who chairs the council, echoed Timoney's views.
''We have credible intelligence about threats before the [presidential] election,'' Jimenez said, rejecting a television reporter's characterization of Ashcoft's appearance as a ``dog and pony show.''
''I've had the classified briefings,'' Jimenez said. ``These are not dog and pony shows.''
COURT RULINGS
The Bush administration suffered a serious setback in two major cases this week when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it went too far in locking up terrorism suspects and denying them access to U.S. courts.
The court's rulings will affect the case of Jose Padilla, a U.S. citizen of Puerto Rican descent who has been in custody without charges for two years because he was suspected of participating in a radioactive, or ''dirty,'' bomb plot. Padilla, held in a South Carolina naval brig, plans to challenge his detention.
PADILLA CASE
According to law-enforcement sources, federal prosecutors in Miami are weighing whether to indict Padilla, a former Broward County resident, on charges of providing financial assistance to a terrorist group run by an Egyptian sheik convicted of plotting to blow up New York City landmarks.
Ashcroft and Jimenez declined to comment about Padilla's case.
Padilla, my homeboy, thanks for this post Soldier