http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/08/01/national1245EDT0485.DTL
Government considering raising threat level in New York, Washington,
official says
- JENNIFER C. KERR, Associated Press Writer
Sunday, August 1, 2004
(08-01) 10:07 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) --
The government is considering raising the threat level in Washington
and New York City and for financial companies, a Homeland Security
Department official said Sunday.
Secretary Tom Ridge planned to discuss the alert status at an
afternoon news conference at department headquarters. It was not
immediately known what intelligence was leading the government to
consider such action.
New York's status has remained at orange, indicating a high risk of
terrorist attack, since Sept. 11, 2001. While the city could fall
under a new heightened alert, no change to red -- severe risk, the
highest level -- was anticipated, said the Homeland Security official,
who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Washington and elsewhere are on yellow, or elevated status of risk;
that is in the middle of the five-color scale.
New intelligence that the al-Qaida terrorist network plans to attack
financial or international institutions in New York has led police to
urge extra security precautions at various city buildings.
The warning, announced Saturday night, did not say how the attacks
might be carried out or when they would occur.
But ABC News, citing anonymous sources, reported Saturday night that
al-Qaida planned to send terrorists across the Mexican border into the
United States, and that suicide attacks were being planned in the
city, possibly using trucks.
The network said attacks may be planned between now and Election Day.
The Republican convention begins in New York on Aug. 30.
A woman with a South African passport was arrested near the
U.S.-Mexico border last week when she tried to board a flight to New
York with about $7,000 in cash. Officials told The Associated Press
they were investigating whether Farida Goolam Mohamed Ahmed, 48, had
ties to al-Qaida or other terrorist groups.
According to court documents, Ahmed, 48, provided a South African
passport that was missing four pages. ABC reported that she was of
Pakistani origin.
According to flight itineraries, Ahmed traveled from Johannesburg
through Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to London and on to Mexico City.
Authorities said she later told them she was smuggled into the United
States from Mexico by crossing the Rio Grande.
Kyle Welch, Ahmed's court-appointed attorney, said his client is not
charged with any terrorist activity and does not have a criminal
record. She was denied bond on Tuesday.
The Associated Press reported last week that authorities believed
crime syndicates operating within the South African government were
believed to be selling illegal passports for as little as $77 apiece.
NYPD spokesman Paul Browne told The New York Times for Sunday editions
that the warning to bolster security came after talks Friday night and
Saturday between Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly and Pasquale
Damuro, assistant director in charge of the FBI's New York office.
Police had no additional comment when contacted by The Associated
Press on Sunday.
The warning gave tips on general business security measures, such as
checking employee identification cards and updating emergency plans.
It also gave some things to look out for, including unanticipated
deliveries or maintenance work, people taking unusual video or
photographs, and visitors claiming to be lost or looking disoriented.
The warning also said bomb threats may be used to evaluate emergency
response time.
On Sun, 1 Aug 2004 12:09:25 -0500, Doug White <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> After giving no coverage to the incidents of hundreds of young male
> Arab-speaking illegals crossing into the US in the Arizona Area recently, Fox
> News is pushing the panic button over a scheduled unprecedented news conference
> called on Sunday by DHS Secretary, Tom Ridge, referring to increasing threats in
> the NYC Area.
>
> Not only does the DHS do absolutely nothing about the illegal immigrants in the
> US, but are still (even three years after 9/11) are still releasing into the
> interior even those illegals that have been rounded up.
>
> The policy of capturing illegals, taking them to booking, where they are given a
> court date and then released, is still a policy that is one of the gut causes of
> the illegal problems in the US today. It is still treated much as a misdemeanor
> traffic stop. Of course the illegals so relapsed never show up for the hearings
> and go about their business with impunity.
>
> Now (Note, no elevation in threat alert status) it is reported that another
> attack is imminent on New York City, possibly coinciding with the Republican
> National Convention.
>
> Unfortunately the credibility factor of this administration has sunk to such a
> low, that the conspiracy theorists have commented that all this is just more to
> add the fear factor to the re-election effort, or possibly arranging an incident
> or two to bolster this.
>
> No wonder the Kerry Polls (nytimes) currently show a 54-48 lead over Bush.
>
>
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