Al-Qaeda is close to completing its avowed plan to strike the US again with a major attack, according to top US law enforcement officials who want the public's help in locating seven terror operatives labeled a "clear and present danger" by US Attorney General John Ashcroft.
Ashcroft said a steady stream of "disturbing" intelligence, collected for months, could mean terrorists already are in the US to execute the plan, though he acknowledged there is no new information indicating when, where or how an attack might happen.
"We do believe that al-Qaeda plans to attack the US, and that is a result of intelligence that is corroborated at a variety of levels," Ashcroft said at a news conference Wednesday with FBI Director Robert Mueller.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Ashcroft and Mueller announced an intensified level of counterterrorism activity for the summer. This includes:
Interviews with individuals who could provide intelligence about terrorism.
Creation of a new FBI task force to focus on the threat.
An appeal to all Americans to be extra vigilant about their surroundings, their neighbors and any suspicious activity.
There was no immediate plan to raise the national terror threat level -- now at yellow, the midpoint of the five-level warning system. Asa Hutchinson, Homeland Security Department undersecretary for border and transportation security, said, "We don't have the specific information that would justify raising it or would cause us to do it."
Some Democrats charged that the administration was needlessly scaring people, perhaps to divert attention from the continuing problems in Iraq. Ashcroft's announcement came two days after US President George W. Bush began a monthlong initiative to explain administration policy on Iraq and the war on terrorism.
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry stopped short of charging the announcement was politically motivated. But he questioned the Bush administration's commitment to providing the resources necessary to protect the country, citing gaps in chemical and nuclear plant safety and inadequate protection for US ports.
Ashcroft rejected talk of a political motive, saying greater public vigilance could help head off an attack.
"My job isn't to worry about whether someone will be second-guessing," he said.
Six of the al-Qaeda operatives, including two Canadian citizens, whose photos and backgrounds were highlighted Wednesday have been the subject of FBI pursuit for months. The seventh, Adam Yahiye Gadahn, 25, is a US citizen who grew up on a California goat farm and converted to Islam as a teenager. He was described by Mueller as having attended al-Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan and served as an al-Qaeda translator.
Each of the suspects, Ashcroft said, presents "a clear and present danger" to the US because of their language skills, familiarity with US culture and ability to travel under multiple aliases and use forged documents.
Ashcroft said al-Qaeda has made adjustments to its tactics to escape easy detection, such as having operatives travel with their families to lower their profiles and recruiting people who can pass for having European ethnicity rather than Middle Eastern backgrounds.
Ashcroft acknowledged there is no new intelligence about the suspects indicating they are in the US or part of a specific al-Qaeda plot. He said it was important that the public be given "a reminder" about them.
Tropical Storm Gaemi strengthened into a typhoon at 2pm yesterday, and could make landfall in Yilan County tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The agency was scheduled to issue a sea warning at 11:30pm yesterday, and could issue a land warning later today. Gaemi was moving north-northwest at 4kph, carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of up to 118.8kph and gusts of 154.8kph. The circumference is forecast to reach eastern Taiwan tomorrow morning, with the center making landfall in Yilan County later that night before departing from the north coast, CWA weather forecaster Kuan Shin-ping (官欣平) said yesterday. Uncertainty remains and
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
DISRUPTIONS: The high-speed rail is to operate as normal, while several airlines either canceled flights or announced early departures or late arrivals Schools and offices in 15 cities and counties are to be closed today due to Typhoon Gaemi, local governments announced last night. The 15 are: Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Tainan, Keelung, Hsinchu and Kaohsiung, as well as Yilan, Hualien, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang counties. People should brace for torrential rainfall brought by the storm, with its center forecast to make landfall on the east coast between tonight and tomorrow morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The agency issued a sea warning for the typhoon at 11:30pm on Monday, followed by a land warning at 11:30am yesterday. As of
CASUALTY: A 70-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in Kaohsiung as the premier warned all government agencies to remain on high alert for the next 24 hours Schools and offices nationwide are to be closed for a second day today as Typhoon Gaemi crosses over the nation, bringing torrential rain and whipping winds. Gaemi was forecast to make landfall late last night. From Tuesday night, its outer band brought substantial rainfall and strong winds to the nation. As of 6:15pm last night, the typhoon’s center was 20km southeast of Hualien County, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. It was moving at 19kph and had a radius of 250km. As of 3pm yesterday, one woman had died, while 58 people were injured, the Central Emergency Operation Center said. The 70-year-old