The US Department of Homeland Security has often been accused of crying wolf for raising the alert after overhearing"chatter" on the terrorist grapevine.
This time, however, the US authorities really believe they have caught a rare glimpse of the wolf at work -- an al-Qaeda operation in preparation.
The high alert sounded at financial institutions in New York, New Jersey or Washington was the most specific to date, and it marks the first time this year that the color-coded alert status has been raised to orange (high).
Warning is specific
It is also the first time that the homeland security department has named specific buildings as possible al-Qaeda targets.
The warning is based on the blueprint of a proposed operation found on an al-Qaeda computer belonging to Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, a Tanzanian-born terrorist suspect arrested in Pakistan last week.
Even more important is the evidence provided by the al-Qaeda computer expert and web manager, Muhammad Naeem Noor Khan, who led investigators to Ghailani.
The computer files pointed to an extensive and meticulous plan to attack a financial target, such as the World Bank, the Citigroup headquarters in New York, or the Prudential Financial building in Newark.
Al-Qaeda operatives had clearly scouted out those buildings, gaining access to upper floors by posing as couriers and delivery men. Ways in and out had been mapped, and the number of potential casualties assessed.
"It is a treasure trove," a US intelligence official said on Sunday. "It provides an incredible level of detail regarding potential targets."
However, there were no clues about the timing of the attacks. Workers at the buildings mentioned on the al-Qaeda files were told to go to work as normal, with instructions only to be concerned.
Tom Ridge, the US homeland security chief, suggested that for "the workers going to work today, there are very anxious moments."
Meanwhile, one tunnel leading into New York was closed to lorries, while police in New York, Newark and Washington were supposed to be stopping cars and lorries near the would-be targets, questioning drivers, and in some cases searching vehicles.
Critics of the measures argued they did more to raise anxiety than to provide real security against attack. Larry Thompson, a former CIA and state department counter-terrorist official, accused the administration of perpetuating "a cry wolf phenomenon".
He added: "You're showing the terrorists that if they make enough of a specific threat, they can shut down a city."
Howard Dean, a former Vermont governor and outspoken Democrat, suggested that the alert was a political ploy by the Bush administration.
Criticism
"I am concerned that every time something happens that's not good for President [George W.] Bush he plays his trump card, which is terrorism," he told CNN. "It is just impossible to know how much of this is real and how much of this is politics."
However, Senator John Kerry, the Democratic party presidential candidate, who was briefed on his campaign bus, disowned Dean's remarks, saying: "I believe you take these threats seriously. I think people of good conscience are working on these issues."
Given the specificity of the al-Qaeda plans uncovered in Pakistan, there was never any question that an alert would be raised.
US intelligence has just emerged from a televised grilling for its failure to spot the warning signs of the Sept. 11 attack. It is not about to repeat the mistake.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese