The threat of a terrorist attack on the US still exists, but counterterrorism officials say there is a conspicuous lack of intelligence "chatter" being picked up.
It's a stark contrast to last year's holiday season, when there was chatter indicating a plot could be in the works. The nation was under heightened alert and a number of foreign flights to America were canceled because of specific threats.
US and foreign intelligence and law enforcement services report a continuing stream of vague, lower-level threats from al-Qaeda and other Islamic extremist groups against American interests at home and abroad. But officials say nothing specific and credible has emerged in recent months that would require the government to raise the risk level above yellow, or "elevated," the midpoint on the five-level threat scale.
"It's a little bit like a duck on a pond. You've got a lot going on under the surface but you don't have any big waves," FBI counterterrorism and counterintelligence chief Gary Bald said in an interview Thursday.
Just before Christmas last year, the threat level was raised to orange, or "high," and flights to the US from Paris, London, Scotland and elsewhere were canceled over several days. The FBI, Homeland Security Department and other agencies scrambled to check names booked on those flights for possible al-Qaeda operatives either trying to get into the US or to target the flights themselves.
In those cases, US and European officials were acting on difficult-to-obtain intelligence singling out specific flights of concern. But even then, no arrests were announced and it was unclear if any plots were thwarted.
Nothing like that has surfaced this year, despite a general concern that terrorists might try to disrupt the holidays or take advantage of hectic travel times to mount an attack.
"We have no information about specific plots as we enter the holiday season," Homeland Security Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse said.
Still, officials and outside experts say the relative calm and lack of an al-Qaeda attack on the US homeland since Sept. 11, 2001, should not be viewed as evidence of decisive victory over terrorists. Al-Qaeda is known to plan attacks patiently and could have operatives already in the US primed for a long-awaited signal.
"When we're in a state of high alert, that's when things are not going to happen," said Michael Greenberger, director of the University of Maryland's Center for Health and Homeland Security.
"It's when we're not looking, when we're overconfident, that something will happen," he said.
The FBI, CIA and other agencies have carefully analyzed audio and video communications from al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden for clues about plots or timing. Although bin Laden's most recent statement focused on attacking foreign targets in Saudi Arabia, American officials aren't letting down their guard.
"I think it would be incredibly naive for us to think that someone won't try another attack," Bald said.
With a week left in the year, the war on terrorism domestically in 2004 was most remarkable for what did not happen. After the threat involving foreign flights abated in January, officials grew increasingly concerned about a possible plot to disrupt the US elections, but nothing occurred. The terror threat level was raised for specific financial institutions in New York, New Jersey and Washington after discovery overseas of detailed -- albeit mainly old -- surveillance of key buildings. That threat level was lowered last month after no incidents occurred.
Looking ahead, officials are planning exceptionally heavy security for the Jan. 20 inauguration of President George W. Bush. Security also will be tight for the Feb. 6 Super Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida.
There are currently no specific, credible threats of terror plots against any of those events. Despite the post-Sept. 11 advances in intelligence gathering and information sharing, officials acknowledge the silence could simply mean that the government isn't looking in the right places.
‘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