-Caveat Lector- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War! District, Nation Move to High Alert By Neely Tucker and Vernon Loeb Washington Post Staff Writers Saturday, September 15, 2001; Page A01 The United States moved the defense of the homeland yesterday to a level not seen since the raid on Pearl Harbor, reflecting the deep civil and military concern that the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were but the opening salvos in a war unlike any the nation has ever faced. Coast Guard cutters patrolled ports and waterways at unprecedented levels from New York harbor to San Diego. F-15 Eagles and F-16 Fighting Falcons continued to fly combat patrols over Washington, New York and other major cities, supported by AWACS airborne surveillance and tanker aircraft, according to a spokesman for the North American Aerospace Defense Command in Colorado. President Bush signed an order authorizing Pentagon officials to call up 35,000 reserves, most of whom will be used to keep military jets on alert at bases across the country, check ships in ports, assist in intelligence-gathering activities and perform other missions that defense officials said either had not yet been determined -- or could not be disclosed. "They are not convinced it is over," Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.), a ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said after briefings from the CIA and the FBI. In Washington, helicopters have intermittently circled the White House and the U.S. Capitol, sometimes seen and sometimes lost in cloud cover, the thump-thump of their blades beating the air. Reagan National Airport is closed. The country's most hallowed symbols along the Mall and the Tidal Basin -- the Washington Monument and the Lincoln, Jefferson and FDR memorials -- are shut down. The city's key waterways, the Potomac and Anacostia rivers, have been closed to all traffic by order of the Coast Guard. Boats are barred on the Potomac from the Woodrow Wilson Bridge to the Key Bridge, about seven nautical miles. The Anacostia River is closed from the Route 50 bridge downriver to where it meets the Potomac. >From New York to San Diego, city ports are closed to all but essential cargo vessels, which maritime officials board and guide into the harbor. Baggage is being inspected before it is loaded onto ships. In Pascagoula, Miss., Coast Guard vessels guard two Navy ships -- the USS Gates and the USS Cole -- under repair in local shipyards. The defensive measures were by no means limited to federal and military agencies. Maryland Gov. Parris N. Glendening (D) said yesterday that an eight-member, Cabinet-level team will immediately scrutinize the state's civil defense measures. "This new level of terrorism demands that we review all state emergency plans and ensure they are updated, coordinated and effective," Glendening said in a statement. In Washington, the White House security perimeter, which had been expanded on Thursday far beyond the gates of the presidential mansion, was contracted last night to its pre-Tuesday dimensions. Also last night, District officials withdrew National Guard troops from postings at downtown intersections. However, security threats, whether real or perceived, continue to come hard and fast. A man armed with a pistol in Washington yesterday tried to drive his black Audi onto the lawn of the Embassy of Saudi Arabia about 8 a.m. He was detained by security personnel at the diplomatic compound and then by the Secret Service. Agency spokesman Marc Connolly said officers responded in less than 60 seconds. A bomb squad examined the car and determined that it did not pose a threat, but streets around the Northwest Washington embassy have been closed while the incident is investigated. The man is in custody and was not publicly identified yesterday. "The people that were here were told to stay inside, and no one else was allowed into the building," said Ahmed Hassan, an adviser at the embassy. "We're not surprised, given what happened." Besides the evacuation of the White House complex and the Capitol on Thursday, authorities said yesterday that the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center was emptied twice and that the D.C. government's headquarters at One Judiciary Square was half-abandoned by employees after the rumor of a bomb threat. During much of the day yesterday, at 17th and I streets, the northern perimeter of the security zone around the White House, military police in green camouflage stood sentry on corners, and yellow police tape blocked access. D.C. police officers asked those who work inside the perimeter to show their identification before they could enter on foot. Workers from the federal and private sector stood soberly in line in a cold, driving rain, ID cards in hand, and contemplated how life had changed. "It's absolutely intimidating," said Therese S. Leung, a Dupont Circle resident who works at the New Executive Office Building. "It's recognition that we're not safe." A block north on K Street, shops and the McCormick & Schmick's restaurant were evacuated because of a bomb threat. The building's occupants filled the sidewalks and nearby Farragut Square. Within the cordoned-off zone that existed until 8 p.m. workers seemed to have little idea of what was happening from moment to moment. When large numbers of workers poured out of one building after hearing a rumor or a report of a bomb scare, employees across the street would also leave their offices, meeting on the sidewalk to share information. "Ordinarily, you would complain about all the security and rumors and people coming out of their offices and nobody really knowing what's going on," said Dawn Spriggs, manager of Bethesda Engraving Ltd., minding an empty shop yesterday. "But this is a new day. If they want to check my ID 15 times, it's fine with me." The confusion hasn't been limited to store employees. In Washington's tangled federal and city government relationship, city officials often seem left out of the security loop. D.C. City Administrator John A. Koskinen said his office learned of the closure of the streets around the White House earlier in the week by looking out the window and seeing lines of traffic backing up on major streets. "Those are decisions that have been made solely by the Secret Service," Koskinen said. "We did not get advance notice, which created more gridlock downtown than anyone would have wanted. But this is a unique situation. It's not that anybody meant to overlook us." One federal law enforcement official said the street closures and other emergency actions are meant to give authorities time to investigate bomb and other possible threats and prevent problems. He said that he wasn't aware of a credible "general threat" against Washington but that some agencies are receiving information about potential problems and taking action. "I don't think it's an exercise," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "It takes time to evaluate things. I think that any agency that has a protective responsibility leaves nothing to chance. That's the prudent thing to do." In explaining why the District was removing its Guard members from the streets, D.C. Deputy Mayor Margret Nedelkoff Kellems said last night that the move was not based on any federal recommendation but that city officials were "trying our best to return to as much of normal life as we can." She also said police would go back to regular shifts today. Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D) shifted the District from a state of emergency to a heightened state of alert at midnight last night. Although the mayor reduced the scope of special powers invoked Tuesday, he said in a statement last night that there remained "a significant concern that terrorist groups or individuals may engage in violence in the District." Meanwhile, the speed at which intelligence and military maneuvers are moving into civilian territory has many civil libertarians almost stunned into silence. Johnny Barnes, director of the Washington branch of the American Civil Liberties Union, declined to comment on the Secret Service maneuvers in federal parts of the city, deferring to a national statement that was mainly focused on protecting the rights of Arab Americans. Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, co-founder of the Partnership for Civil Justice, a D.C.-based civil liberties law firm, was understanding -- but concerned about the days ahead. "We strongly urge the Bush administration to take action within the Constitution and the Bill of Rights," she said. "In the coming weeks, the traditional public spaces near the executive branch of government, the Ellipse and Lafayette Park, should remain available to the people of the United States to participate in the democratic process about the nation's options in response to this crisis." Any eventual U.S. military action aimed at retaliating against those responsible for Tuesday's attacks would probably require the call-up of substantially more reserve forces, officials said yesterday. The last time a mobilization of reserves was ordered was in January 1991, when 265,322 National Guard and reserve troops were activated to fight in the Desert Storm campaign that ousted Iraqi forces from Kuwait. Under the call-up authority, the Pentagon can keep the reservists on duty for up to two years. Among other units that might be called, defense officials yesterday listed intelligence support, military police, medical teams, logistics specialists, engineers, search-and-rescue squads and civil affairs units. The military services have identified requirements for 35,500 reservists, but Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld sought approval to activate up to 50,000. Under the order President Bush signed, the Pentagon can call as many as 1 million reservists. But Craig W. Duehring, principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for reserve affairs, told reporters yesterday that Rumsfeld had a "handshake agreement" with Bush to "coordinate" any possible future need to exceed 50,000. The region's military bases remained on high alert, a status that apparently will continue well into next week. At the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, access remained restricted to military personnel with photo identification, and all but one gate was closed. Intercollegiate and club sports as well as all extracurricular activities through tomorrow were canceled. Academy officials said sponsors who had planned to visit with midshipmen today would have to pick them up at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium and return them there at the end of the evening. Andrews Air Force Base is also on Condition Charlie -- one step below Delta, the highest. Only "mission essential personnel" were allowed on base yesterday, and a recording on the base's telephone system reminded callers to "be alert for unidentified vehicles, abandoned packages, suitcases and any unusual activities. Make sure all buildings and all areas remain secure at all times . . . close windows, blinds and curtains." At Aberdeen Proving Ground, the largest Army facility in Maryland, the base was operating under Condition Charlie rules, the third of four levels of security alert. For the more than 20,000 employees, contractors and residents, the security measures caused traffic backups on roads leading into the base as guards inspected vehicles and closely checked military ID cards. "If you don't have the ID," said Aberdeen spokesman George Mercer, "then don't get in line, because we're not going to let you in." *COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and educational purposes only.[Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ] Want to be on our lists? Write at [EMAIL PROTECTED] for a menu of our lists! <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! 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