-Caveat Lector-
Suicide Plot Suspected
ABC News
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.
The information drove the U.S. military in the Persian Gulf
state to go on the highest level of alert.
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, killing 17 U.S. servicemen and
women and injuring dozens.
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 ships crews also
are in Bahrain.
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 U.S. 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.
ABCNEWS� John McWethy and Barbara Starr, ABCNEWS.com�s Sascha
Segan, Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this
report.
What Is Threat Con Delta?
Threat conditions are measured by military commanders in the
field based on intelligence reports and local conditions. There
are five levels of �Threat Con,� each of which carries
suggestions about vehicle inspections, personnel alerts and
identity checks. Local commanders decide what to do under each
condition.
During the Cole�s Threat Con Bravo, for instance, rifle-wielding
sailors mounted watch from the deck of the ship, but no moves
were taken to prevent small boats from approaching the Cole.
Now, under Threat Con Delta, crew members are manning machine
guns on board and an armed inflatable boat is patrolling around
the Cole.
The five levels of threat condition are:
Threat Condition Normal: no threat of terrorist activity is
present
Threat Condition Alpha: there is a general threat of possible
terrorist activity against installations, building locations,
and/or personnel, the nature and extent of which are
unpredictable.
Threat Condition Bravo: There is an increased and more
predictable threat of terrorist activity even though no
particular target has been identified.
Threat Condition Charlie: An incident has occurred or
intelligence has been received indicating some form of terrorist
action is imminent
Threat Condition Delta: A terrorist attack has occurred or
intelligence has been received that action against a specific
location is likely.
=================================================================
Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT
FROM THE DESK OF:
*Michael Spitzer* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends
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