Free Republic

FBI Director Christopher Wray went silent Tuesday when questioned over whether the country was safer since President Biden took office. "Is the United States safer from foreign terror threats today? Are we safer than when Joe Biden took office — from the day he took office?" Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., asked Wray during a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing. Wray took an extended pause, sitting silently and appearing to be in deep thought before finally answering. "What I would say to you is that the terror threats have elevated. But I also think there are a lot of things the...

Indonesian authorities raised the danger level for the volatile Mount Merapi volcano on the densely populated island of Java on Thursday and ordered a halt to tourism and mining activities. Indonesia’s geological agency raised Merapi’s alert level, which had been at the third-highest level since it began erupting last year, to the second-highest level after sensors picked up increasing activity. Its last major eruption in 2010 killed 347 people and caused the evacuation of 20,000 villagers. The 2,968-meter (9,737-foot) mountain is about 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the Yogyakarta city center. About a quarter million people live within a 10-kilometer...

The UK's terror threat level has been raised from severe to critical, meaning an attack is considered imminent. Prime Minister Theresa May announced the decision from Downing Street. The move means that military personnel could be deployed to support armed police officers. "It is a possibility that we cannot ignore that there a wider group of individuals linked to this attack," Mrs May said. She said that the threat level was under constant review. "The change in the threat level means there will be additional support available to the police as they work to keep us safe," she said.

Note: The following text is a quote: THREAT LEVELS Members of the public should always remain alert to the danger of terrorism and report any suspicious activity to the police on 999 or the anti-terrorist hotline: 0800 789 321. If your information does not relate to an imminent threat, you can also contact the Security Service via the How You Can Help us page. Current threat level The current threat level is assessed as SEVERE (as of 22nd January 2010 - see threat level history for previous changes). This means there is a strong possibility of future terrorist attacks and...

You may not have noticed, because most of the plots were foiled, but 2009 saw an unprecedented surge in terrorism events on U.S. soil. When analysts tally these events, they refer to anything from a disrupted plot to U.S. citizens traveling abroad to seek terrorism training or a lone gunman running amok in the U.S. And by the calculations of Rand Corp. expert Brian Jenkins, more terrorist threats were uncovered in the U.S. in 2009 than in any year since 2001. "There appears to be an increase in [terrorist] activity in the U.S.," warns Jenkins, who calculates that there have...

Just wonderin'.... traveling to the Caribbean in two weeks....

WASHINGTON – The Homeland Security Department will review and possibly replace the often-ridiculed multicolored terror alert system created after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Since it was created in 2002, the system has been confusing and became the butt of jokes by late-night television comics. Critics have said assigning different categories to different colors is too vague an approach to deliver enough information to be useful. And Democrats said the Bush administration used it for political manipulation. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano appointed a task force Tuesday to determine in 60 days how effective the current system is. "My goal...

Military Occupation by: Ben Giles, June 04, 2008 David Edelstein argues for one major variable of success for military occupancy, and his research shows that the War in Iraq has done a poor job of recognizing this all-important factor. Edelstein, an assistant professor at Georgetown University, presented the findings of his new book, Occupational Hazards: Success and Failure In Military Occupancy, at the Cato Institute on May 29, a subject which moderator Justin Long called a “terribly important topic, and terribly timely as well.” “If only we had had this book before the invasion of Iraq,” said Jack Snyder of...

The National Football League has boosted the law enforcement budget and heightened the security threat level for Super Bowl 41 because of terrorism fears. The Super Bowl has been raised to a level one national security event, putting it on par in terms of manpower and resources with the US President's State of the Union speech and the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. "We consider the Super Bowl so high profile that we see it as attractive to terrorists," said Milt Ahlerich, NFL vice-president of security. The last Super Bowl to be given a level one security designation was the...

August 13, 2006 Contact: (202) 282-8010 DHS ADJUSTS THREAT LEVEL FROM RED TO ORANGE FOR IN-BOUND FLIGHTS FROM THE UK Threat Level Remains High; U.S. and U.K. Align Threat Levels WASHINGTON – Effective immediately, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced an adjustment in the aviation threat level from RED to ORANGE for flights from the United Kingdom to the United States. There will not be any operational changes for domestic flights in the United States. Thus, the U.S. threat level remains at ORANGE, or ‘High,’ for all domestic and international flights. The ban on liquids and gels in carry...

The President held a press conference in the Rose Garden today. He requested that Congress act to create the position of a National Intelligence Director. That person -- the person in that office will be appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, and will serve at the pleasure of the President. The National Intelligence Director will serve as the President's principal intelligence advisor and will oversee and coordinate the foreign and domestic activities of the intelligence committee. Under this reorganization, the CIA will be managed by a separate Director. The National Intelligence Director will assume...

I'm With John Madden: No More Commercial Flying For Me By Chuck Baldwin Food For Thought From The Chuck Wagon January 13, 2004 After retiring from coaching, former Oakland Raiders Head Coach and now popular sportscaster John Madden hung up his wings. He had been forced to spend numerous hours flying commercial airliners with his NFL team, but upon retiring he said, "No more flying for me." When first approached to take a position as a professional sportscaster, Madden said he would only consider the offer if he could travel to games via a bus. The networks agreed, and Madden...

The President had a busy weekend. He called the President of China to thank him for his recent comments on Taiwan and they discussed by phone how to restart North Korea nuclear talks. During the conversation Saturday night, the two leaders made a favorable appraisal of Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to the United States this month. Hu told Pres. Bush he hoped the goal of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula can be realized through a way acceptable to all parties concerned. Sunday, after attending St. John's across the street from the White House, the President met with his Security Council...

Threat Level Remains at Gray Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge admitted today that he is "completely color-blind," but assured the American people that his condition in no way impairs his ability to fulfill his duties as steward of the nation's security. "Color-blind or not, here at the Department of Homeland Security, it is business as usual," Mr. Ridge said. "The threat level remains at gray." For Secretary Ridge, the admission that he is color-blind brought with it a tremendous sense of relief, he said. "In the past, every time I picked up a pointer to indicate the latest threat level...

Developing. Watch "Abrams Report" on MSNBC. Steve Emerson is on.

I was looking at the White House web site tonight (isn't it great to be able to view it and not hurl..?) and noted that the threat level is still Orange. I thought after the week of 9/11 it would have been stepped down to yellow/elevated status.

What does this actually mean? Is it a preplanned 9/11 readiness level or does it mean forces are moving out? Why would MSNBC know about this anyway? Anyone have explanations? (Yes, LLSH)

'An Attack on Freedom Itself?' by Michael Peirce When I first heard that phrase I wrote it off as merely an unusually silly bit of verbiage from a man who was justifiably angered by the attack on the World Trade Center. Wrong, Michael! These leaders of ours may be silly, but our George was right on target. He has indeed begun an attack on freedom unparalleled since Lincoln’s mercenaries drove old Dixie down. Let’s take the pulse of this war, and determine just what is really happening and to whom. First off – who are the targets, who are the...

So now we have to be on the lookout for skin-diving Arabs, traveling on Amtrak trains or Trailways buses, wearing plastique wet suits no doubt; perhaps even with suitcase nukes in tow. "Recent information has determined that various terrorist elements have sought to develop an offensive scuba diver capability, While there is no evidence of operational planning to utilize scuba divers to carry out attacks within the United States, there is a body of information showing the desire to obtain such capability," the FBI said in an information bulletin issued by its National Infrastructure Protection Center. An FBI spokesman said...