Terror Threat Level Is Raised to 'High Risk'

By Richard B. Schmitt, Josh Meyer and Greg Krikorian

Feb. 8, 2003 12 AM PT

Times Staff Writers

WASHINGTON —

Citing “specific intelligence” that had been corroborated by multiple sources, top administration officials Friday said the chances of a terrorist attack against Americans here and abroad had increased substantially and they urged the country to be on heightened alert.

The decision to upgrade the nation’s alert system to “code orange,” indicating a “high risk” of a terrorist strike, comes as the United States is veering toward war in Iraq.

But law enforcement and intelligence officials insisted that the looming conflict did not drive their decision. Rather, they said, it was motivated by a confluence of troubling intelligence received about the Al Qaeda network in recent weeks, and its continuing desire to attack U.S. citizens.

Atty. General John Ashcroft, who was joined at a news conference by Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge and FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III, said recent intelligence reports indicate an increased likelihood that an attack will occur “in or around the end of” the annual Muslim pilgrimage to the holy Saudi city of Mecca, known as hajj. The five-day pilgrimage, which begins this weekend, involves the global travel of hundreds of thousands of Muslims, and authorities said they feared some Al Qaeda members could try to hide their movements amid the sheer numbers of traveling Muslims.

Ashcroft, Ridge and Mueller and other authorities declined to disclose any specifics about the method, timing or location of a possible attack.

One senior counter-terrorism official said at least one intercepted communication mentioned attacks on New York and Washington, “but that is always the case. It was nothing specific.” The official said: “What is unique about this is that you have a lot of different [intelligence] from a lot of different sources, all talking about attacks in the U.S. and elsewhere, during the same time frame.”

Ashcroft, meanwhile, cited recent reports suggesting that Al Qaeda leaders have emphasized planning for attacks on apartment buildings, hotels and other “soft or lightly secured targets.” He said there appeared to be renewed interest in carrying out chemical, biological and radioactive attacks, officials believe, in part based on recent arrests in London, where the deadly poison ricin was found.

“Historically, the intelligence community has indicated that Al Qaeda might also seek economic targets, including the transportation and energy sectors, as well as symbolic targets and symbols of American power,” Ashcroft said.

“So when you put it in that context, it’s pretty clear that this is a situation where Al Qaeda is going to strike the United States and at the interests of free people in other settings,” he added.

Also on Friday, the FBI announced that it was seeking the public’s help in locating a Pakistani who sometimes goes by the name of Mohammed Sher Mohammad Khan, who they believed entered the U.S. illegally after September 2001.

But a law enforcement source said that while Khan was a factor in the decision to elevate the alert Friday, he was not the primary reason. Khan is an English speaker and sometimes has a beard, and is also asthmatic, according to the government. The FBI said it had “no specific information” that tied the man to terrorism.

The government last upgraded the threat level to “orange” on its color-coded terror index in September, on the eve of the first anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. It was reduced to the “yellow” or “elevated” level two weeks later.

Friday’s heightened alert immediately triggered federal agencies to increase security at airports and federal facilities nationwide. Added personnel were deployed to patrol and secure the nation’s borders. State and local governments, firefighters, police, and hospital and medical facilities also mobilized.

In New York, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said additional emphasis would be placed on hotel lobbies, apartment buildings and the city subway system.

Plainclothes police officers in Chicago were put in uniform. In Los Angeles, the stepped-up security was immediately apparent at FBI headquarters, where even agents could no longer bypass screeners by using identification cards to activate an employee entrance.

The government also called on individuals to be more vigilant, saying they were the country’s main line of defense against terrorist attacks, while imploring them not to alter their daily routines.

“We are not recommending that events be canceled or travel or other plans be changed,” Homeland Secretary Ridge said. “We do recommend that individuals and families in the days ahead take some time to prepare for an emergency.”

Ashcroft’s concerns were echoed by U.S. counter-terrorism officials and federal lawmakers with access to classified information, who said the threat has been building over the last two weeks or so. One official said the level of intelligence “chatter,” or traffic in communication among suspected terrorists, has reached a peak unseen since just before the Sept. 11 attacks.

The intelligence, they said in interviews, was specific in some cases but general in others, and came through a wide variety of avenues, including several trusted “legitimate” sources as well as electronic intercepts.

“You hear people talking about something may happen soon,” one intelligence official said. “They are using words that indicate to us that something large-scale is underway.”

A counter-terrorism official said that, based on analysis by intelligence experts, authorities are examining the possibility that targets could include the Saudi Embassy in the U.S. or elsewhere, as well as U.S. facilities overseas and large metropolitan areas in this country.

“It’s basically one big target in the U.S., one big target outside the U.S. and a lot of little targets in the U.S.,” the official said. He added that officials are also studying whether to round up some of the estimated hundreds of Al Qaeda associates in the U.S. who have in some way been linked to this new threat -- rather than just monitoring their activities as in the past. “They are the ones who are actively being investigated or are about to be investigated,” the official said.

The decision to elevate the threat level was made Friday morning during a meeting of the President’s Homeland Security Advisory Council, meeting in the Situation Room in the basement of the White House, said Gordon Johndroe, spokesman for the Homeland Security Department. That council consists of President Bush’s top national security advisors, including Ashcroft, Mueller, CIA Director George J. Tenet and national security advisor Condoleezza Rice.

Shortly after 10 a.m., Ridge and Ashcroft met with Bush in the Oval Office to recommend raising the terrorism alert, and the president concurred. Bush said, “I agree, change the code,” said White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer.

The change, coming exactly two weeks after Ridge was sworn in as the nation’s first secretary of Homeland Security, amounted to the latest big test for the system. Early on, state and local officials have complained about a lack of communication with their federal counterparts, as well as the crushing financial burden of heightening local security.

The latest threat, said U.S. Rep. Jane Harman (D-Venice), underscores the immediate need for Congress to accelerate hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for police, fire and other local law enforcement providers nationwide who would be the first to respond to any terrorist attack on U.S. soil. “The threat level is high, but current resources for first responders remains too low,” Harman said.

Friday morning, Ridge held a conference call with representatives of major national groups, including the U.S. Conference of Mayors, to cue them on the raised threat, leading them to implement their own actions.

Federal agencies quickly followed suit. The Transportation Security Administration began increasing the number of random screenings at airports and assigning air marshals to more flights. Homeland Security advised air travelers that fewer parking spaces will be available at airports and that vehicles will be inspected at random.

Inspectors for the Customs Service, the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Agriculture Department were instructed to tighten security at the Mexican and Canadian borders. The Customs Service increased the number of shipping containers it inspects at ports, and the Coast Guard increased patrols.

Officials at the Health and Human Services Department conducted a conference call with state and local health departments, and “increased the readiness” of teams responsible for moving and receiving the nations’ pharmaceutical stockpile, a spokesman said.

The stockpiles consist of vaccines, antibiotics and other medical supplies that are stored at 12 sites around the country and could be transported to any city within six to 12 hours in the case of a naturally occurring or terrorist-induced epidemic.

Separately, the State Department on Friday announced the authorized departure of all dependents and nonemergency employees from the U.S. embassies and consulates in Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria and the closing of the U.S. interest section in Iraq.

The department also issued a travel warning to all American citizens in the five countries to “evaluate rigorously” their own security situations and whether they should consider leaving.

The moves result from an “overall assessment” of security concerns and growing anti-American sentiment in the Middle East, “especially as the international community continues to focus on the issue of Iraqi disarmament,” a State Department spokesman said late Friday. “This is not to say that military action against Iraq is imminent. It merely represents a prudent measure as we prepare for various contingencies in the region.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Level “orange”

Orange is the second-highest alert level on a five-point scale of risk developed after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Red: Severe risk

The highest level of alert, it signals that an attack is imminent.

Orange: High risk (current level)

Last used Sept. 10 for the anniversary of the attacks; lowered two weeks later.

Yellow: Significant risk

The most common assessment level since the ratings system was introduced.

Blue: General risk

Indicates only moderate threats; calls for review and updates of procedures.

Green: Low risk