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W A S H I N G T O N, Oct. 25 — Intelligence sources tell ABCNEWS they believe there was a plot for a suicide bomber to drive a vehicle loaded with explosives onto a runway underneath an American aircraft in Bahrain and blow it up. U.S. intelligence indicates a wide-ranging plot to attack U.S. targets, in addition to the USS Cole.
The information drove the U.S. military in the Persian Gulf state to the highest level of alert (see related story). The plan, sources say they suspect, was part of a coordinated plot to attack U.S. forces overseas. Intelligence sources say they detected threats to the American embassy in nearby Qatar and to the Air Force base used by American fighter jets in Incirlik, Turkey. The deadly bombing of the USS Cole, the sources say, may have been just one part of the larger plot. The Cole was attacked Oct. 12, while refueling in port in Aden, Yemen, killing 17 U.S. sailors and injuring 39. Other intelligence indicated that attacks on the U.S. embassy in Bahrain and the international school — attended by many American children — were also part of a plan. The attack on the plane was planned at the international airport in Bahrain, part of which is used by the U.S. military.
Bahrain is the headquarters for the U.S. Navy commander in the region, and about 1,000 military personnel are located there. In addition to military personnel, families and ship’s crews also are in Bahrain. Bin Laden Suspected
Though American officials insist they do not yet know who was responsible for the attack on the Cole, intelligence sources tell ABCNEWS that investigators have little doubt that terrorist leader Osama bin Laden was behind it — that he financed it and sent one of his top people to organize it.
The United States could not yet prove it in court, one official said, but the evidence is compelling. American officials say they are once again discussing ways the United States might retaliate, though sources insist any American military action is still a long way off.
The president of Yemen today seemed to be pointing toward bin Laden when he told reporters that all those he has detained are associated with a radical Islamic group that does its training in Afghanistan — where bin Laden runs his operation.
American officials are said to be deeply concerned about the pattern they are seeing, the diversity and complexity of it. What worries them the most, is what they may not be not seeing — the terrorist cells that may still out there preparing attacks.
Won’t Back Down In Washington today, the top U.S. commander for the region told senators the United States will not back out of the Persian Gulf, even though American forces face threats of terrorism.
Gen. Tommy Franks, head of the U.S. Central Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee this morning that America “will not back away from this mission” because “our forward presence in this region remains, in fact, key to preserving America’s vital interests.” Franks defended the use of Aden, where the USS Cole was attacked, as a refueling port for U.S. ships and said “we will never reduce the risks to our people to zero, but we will reduce the risks to our people in every way we can.”
U.S. military personnel in three locations in the Middle East are currently on the highest state of alert. Over the weekend, the U.S. military installation at Bahrain and the much smaller garrison at Qatar joined Aden at “Threat Condition Delta” because of specific warnings of potential terrorist activity, Rear Adm. Craig Quigley told journalists Tuesday.
For civilians, an Oct. 18 advisory telling Americans to exercise caution in the Persian Gulf, Arabian peninsula and Turkey “remains very much in effect” but hasn’t been made more severe, State Department spokesman Philip Reeker said today.
Military Decision Franks and Edward Walker, assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs, defended the choice of Aden as a refueling port as a purely military decision. “It met our mobility requirements in terms of time and location. It provided something that no other port in our area provides, and that is a refueling dolphin, or a standoff capability wherein a ship can avoid moving to a pier,” Franks said. But armed services committee chairman Sen. John Warner, R-Va., seemed worried that diplomatic considerations also played a role, with the United States using its military presence to cement relations with Yemen’s government. “Mr. Chairman, the decision on refueling of U.S. Naval vessels is strictly and solely a military decision,” Walker told him.
Specific Threats Bahrain and Qatar were raised to Threat Condition Delta because of specific terrorist threats, Quigley said Tuesday.
The U.S. military base at Incirlik, in Turkey, is currently at Threat Con Charlie because of another “specific and credible” threat, military sources said today. Quigley said the military wasn’t sure how credible the threats of terrorism were but confirmed they included multiple threats from multiple sources. Threat Condition Delta is the highest level of alert available to U.S. forces, controlling the movement of troops, the movement of visitors, and the checking and parking of vehicles. “This is a specific threat with the credibility unknown,” he said. Quigley said he could not recall when U.S. forces have been at that level of alert in Bahrain and Qatar. He said the most recent time Threat Condition Delta was activated anywhere was after the U.S. embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998. Concern is so high in both Persian Gulf nations that the local international schools have been closed due to fears they could be targets. These schools are run for the children of U.S. military personnel as well as dozens of children from families of embassy delegations.
Embassy Closed Details surrounding the warnings have been closely guarded, but officials say the information generally involves surveillance of U.S. personnel and plans for a specific attack. The threat is said to have grown in the last few days following initial concerns last week when U.S. military personnel said they were under surveillance. In addition, the State Department Tuesday said the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta was closing for the rest of the week because of a specific threat against the mission in the Indonesian capital. Today is a holiday in Indonesia, but the embassy will also remain closed to public business Thursday and Friday, department spokesman Philip Reeker said. An assessment then will be made on whether to return to full service, he said.
Increasing Threats
Before the bombing of the Cole, Aden, Bahrain and Qatar were at Threat Con Bravo. After the Cole bombing, Bahrain and Qatar were moved to Charlie, the next level up, while Aden was moved to Delta, military sources said.
But if specific threats had been received before the Cole bombing, the awareness level in Aden would have been raised earlier, Franks said.
“Information of that kind, if it had existed, which it didn’t, would have been disseminated on the most urgent basis to all the people who were potentially affected by it,” Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Walter Slocombe told the hearing.
Complicating the threat condition question, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., pointed out that guidelines for Threat Condition Alpha recommend that small boats be kept away from military ships. The Cole’s status of Bravo when it was attacked by a small boat should have been stricter than Alpha.
“Unauthorized crafts should be kept away from the ship. Unauthorized crafts should be carefully controlled, surveiled and covered,” Levin read from a military regulation manual.
Osama bin Laden
THESE POLITICIANS NEED TO QUIT BROADCASTING THREATCON LEVELS!!!
Sorry for the shouting, but I would rather have our troops asses covered than some bureaucrat! Who is running OPSEC over there, Mickey Mouse?
If this guy really exists, he is the best friend the far left (i.e., cliton-gore) ever had. Every time they need to get a bump in the polls or cover up some crime, they make believe old Osama uttered another threat. What a crock!
One of Bin Laden's most successfu terrorist acts was the destruction of a hundred American cruise missiles, with the loss of only a few tents and donkeys.
I'm REALLY curious about the legitimate existance of Usamma Bin Laden (or Ossama, or Osama depending on the news source). Recently I did a news search on the terrorist now known as Bin Laden. I found one article in 1994. 2 in 1996, and over 1400 from 1997 to now. Before that, he didn't exist in the news. Including in lists of top Arabs, richest Saudi's, and other lists. Suddenly, in 1994, this man (shadow?) appears with over $300 million that was never on any other mentioned article? And we have 4 or 5 shots of the man. I wonder if the person we keep showing is actually a member of some group or faction called Ussama Bin Laden? Is it possible that we are looking at a Kaiser Sousae (I know, I can't spell it, but "the Devil" from "The Usual Suspects")? We have a man that doesn't exist prior to 1994 and then when the 'Toon needs him, suddenly he's the bane of the world's existance. Something stinks about this whole thing.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
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