Posted on 05/20/2003 9:36:27 AM PDT by ewing
Edited on 04/22/2004 12:36:22 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
The blue tie means that this threat is serious.
U.S. Terror Alert May Be Raised After Threats, Officials Say
Washington, May 20 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. terrorism threat indicator is likely to be raised to its second-highest level within days because of increased signals terrorist groups are planning attacks in the U.S. or against U.S. interests abroad, two administration officials said.
The White House officials said the five-level threat indicator would be lifted one step, to ``high risk'' or orange, from ``elevated'' or yellow, the fourth time the threat level has been raised.
The FBI, CIA and Department of Homeland Security are concerned that intercepted communications indicate a likelihood of an attack against U.S. interests, the administration officials said. Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge will make a decision within the next two days, the officials said.
Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the U.S., Prince Bandar bin Sultan, said last night in Riyadh that he anticipated attacks in either Saudi Arabia or the U.S.
``My gut feeling tells me something big is going to happen here or in America,'' Bandar told reporters, according to the Associated Press. ``There is chatter, a high level of chatter regionally and in other international spots'' about possible attacks in the U.S. or Saudi Arabia.
The U.S. State Department today closed the embassy in Riyadh and consulates in Jeddah and Dhahran through at least Sunday as U.S. and Saudi officials said new terrorist attacks in the countries may be imminent.
``The embassy continues to receive credible information that further terrorist attacks are being planned against unspecified targets in Saudi Arabia,'' the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh said in a statement on its Web site.
Saudi Attacks
The closures follow last week's attacks at three compounds housing foreigners in Riyadh that killed 25 people, including eight Americans and nine suicide bombers.
White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said he had no specific information about a change in the terror threat level. He did say that the standard ``gets reviewed every day, based on the latest intelligence.''
The government on March 17 raised the threat indicator from yellow to orange moments after President George W. Bush gave former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein 48 hours to capitulate or face war. The alert level was returned to yellow on April 16 as major Iraq combat operations ended.
Code yellow means the U.S. faces a ``significant'' risk of terrorist attacks. When the listing is raised to orange, the government steps up planning with state and local law enforcement agencies that would respond to any attack.
A ``high-risk'' threat means federal and local officials should consider canceling public events that might draw an attack and restrict access to power plants, reservoirs and government buildings to essential personnel.
The FBI also has issued a warning that the bombings last week in Riyadh indicate the al-Qaeda terrorist network remains active and could launch new attacks in the U.S.
Al-Qaeda could strike U.S. and Western targets overseas, the FBI said in an updated advisory to state and local law enforcement agencies.
The State Department said the Saudi offices usually are closed on Thursday and Friday and will be closed Saturday for Memorial Day.
National Security Council spokesman Sean McCormack said that FBI investigators are assisting the bombing investigations in Saudi Arabia and in Morocco, where a series of bombings Friday claimed 28 lives.
``At this point, we haven't discovered any links between these two attacks, but the investigation is continuing,'' McCormack said. Last Updated: May 20, 2003 12:07 EDT
Yep, every year.
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