Ridge says not to worry, no terrorists are crossing the border.
Posted on 09/30/2004 5:12:44 PM PDT by Robert_Paulson2
No threat seen to district; children are safe, police say By Kelly Thornton UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
A man arrested by U.S. authorities in Iraq had a computer disk in his possession containing a public report downloaded from a U.S. Department of Education Web site on crisis planning in school districts, including San Diego Unified.
The man was described as an Iraqi national with connections to terrorism and the insurgency that is fighting U.S. forces in Iraq. Officials in San Diego said the man's intentions were unknown.
San Diego law enforcement officials said there was no indication of any terrorist plot against schools in San Diego or elsewhere in the country. They did not publicly release the information because there appeared to be no threat. The information was relayed to the San Diego FBI office last week and then to the school district Friday.
"The children are absolutely safe," said San Diego Police Chief Bill Lansdowne. "If there was a threat, we, the San Diego Police Department, would be first to notify (parents). This is not a threat."
The disk contained a document entitled "Practical Information on Crisis Planning, A Guide for Schools and Communities." The 50-plus page document, published in May 2003 by the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, is available to the public on the U.S. Department of Education's Web site, said San Diego District spokeswoman Peri Lynn Turnbull.
FBI officials visited the office of district Superintendent Alan Bersin Friday to inform him, Turnbull said. Because there was no indication that terrorists were targeting any schools, in San Diego or elsewhere, the district informed the school police department, but decided not to notify schools and parents.
"We certainly did not want to create any unnecessary panic in our community," Turnbull said. The FBI said because there was no specific threat, that was the appropriate response.
"The superintendent was alerted by the FBI that there were no direct threats to the district or any San Diego school and that by our maintaining our same level of care and concern that our schools would be safe," Turnbull said.
Dan Dzwilewski, head of the FBI office in San Diego, said there is no reason for alarm.
"We don't know the intention of the person that had this material," Dzwilewski said. "But the disk contained absolutely no threat information. It's only out of an abundance of caution – because it was discovered in Iraq
– that we shared this with another public agency."
Some counterterrorism officials said they were concerned that the information would be misinterpreted and would alarm people unnecessarily. They said the information was withheld from the public because there was no specific threat, and the public may become inured to repeated general warnings of vague possibilities of attacks.
"There is no threat here," said a San Diego police lieutenant who spoke on condition of confidentiality because of the sensitive nature of such investigations. "When you've put out information month after month after month, the public thinks we're crying wolf.
"The context here is, a public source document put out by the U.S. Department of Education was found on a computer. Period. My concern would be if a particular school district, or a particular school, or a particular institution was targeted, which it has not been."
Lansdowne said the situation shows that the federal government is sharing information with local agencies in an efficient manner.
"I think it's a good indication of how quickly we're notified and the thoroughness of the information we receive," the chief said. "They give us all the information now and allow local jurisdictions to do with it what they think they should."
Lansdowne said the report on the disk lauds the district as an example of good planning.
The document mentions other school districts and gives information about evacuations, lockdowns and other emergency procedures in the event of a disaster, such as an earthquake or terrorist attack.
"If somebody read the article, they would say we're not going to pick San Diego because they have a very good plan in place," Lansdowne said. "It's probably more good news than bad news."
Kelly Thornton: (619) 542-4571;
kelly.thornton@uniontrib.com
These school, police and FBI officials are incredibly stupid. The potential for a series of "Beslan" type events here in the US with these fools in charge scares the hell out of me. I have "zero" confidence in their ability to protect our children.
I like the sound of: "APTO":
(Armed Parent & Teacher Organization: ---"meets first Saturday of the month at the local firing range")
BINGO!!!! 24/7.....I want to see armed Dad's/uncles/grandpas patrolling those schools. I'm NOT kidding.
I Like the idea of armed ROTC training in area high schools. ARMED members of the coast guard and national guard auxilary in all CA coastal and border community school campuses, with radios that connect directly to swat teams in the county and school districts... as well as basic side arms for perimeter walks.
Lots of very healthy older military men would love to do it one day a week... say 55-65 or more years of age.... as long as they are healthy and can shoot straight. Maybe such seniors could make some extra money doing 'guard' duty of the REAL variety.
As a native and resident of SoCal, I feel so safe. The authorities brush this aside--no problema here.
And Asa Hutchinson, Tom Ridge, assure us that no middle east MUSLIM terrorists are sneaking over our well guarded border with our good southern neighbor.
Just a little passing fact: Each day I can count the ships just outside LosAngeles-LongBeach harbor.
Before 9/1/2001 it was often zero to maximum two or three.
Immediately after 9/11/2001 it peaked at about twenty. It dropped down to just a few each day.
Lately it has increased to above twenty. Today I counted thirty. The most I have ever seen.
What is strange is this: It would seem the ships would be low in the water, full of containers to offload on the docks. But the ships ride high in the water, few if any containers aboard.
Same here...my kids are grown--one grandson---and I have the time. And don't overlook us Moms and gramma's!
A great concept that would be affective but I would opt for plain clothes so as not to look like we're becoming a militarized society.
If they attack our children they prove themselves to be less than human and we have no further reason to protect their children.
When a cat goes feral, you kill it and any kittens. Likewise we will have to eradicate the nation that attacks our children.
A glass parking lot over any country (but Israel) in the mideast (or anywhere else for that matter) won't bother me a bit in these circumstances.
Jeez. Out here in flyover country, S.D. is also known as SOuth Dakota.
Unfortunately that is not enough. Islamics are COMMANDED by their religion to lie to non-islamics if they can gain advantage by it. islamics over the age of four or five have to be either deported or kept under close watch until they die. They cannot be trusted. (even if they say they convert to Christianity you NEVER know if they are sincere) We'll have to wait for them to die and let God decide if they were telling the truth. Of course they cannot be trusted with raising children because we cannot let the plague be spread to a new generation
To stamp out terrorism you must stamp out islam
The large military presence in San Diego makes the likelihood of killing military children very likely.
But but but but......John Kerry told us last night that there is no connection between Iraq and terrorism.
Of course, they're going to try it. They said they would. Schools all over the country should be put on alert. How much different is one school's emergency plan different from another's?
http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/emergencyplan/index.html
Reminds me Kevin Bacon in Animal House as the ROTC Butter-bar at the parade, shouting: "Remain Calm. All is well."
INTREP
Ridge says not to worry, no terrorists are crossing the border.
You made two clear points; Terrorist & Attack.
Too many people here in FR still believe that Beslan was a hostage situation. Terrorist tend to maximize death.
All Law Enforcement Agencies and LEO's need to be made to understand that IF there is an attack on a US school, that it will NOT be a hostage situation but a killing spree. The LEO's first priority of "Officer Safety First" will have to be dropped.
Did the Terrorist also learn leasons from Columbine? That LEO's will do Nothing to stop a attack?
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