Al-Qaida has operatives currently within the United States who are preparing to mount a major terrorist attack on America this summer, according to government intelligence deemed to be highly credible.
The prediction was made public after a study by the International Institute of Strategic Studies revealed that despite the elimination of many top terror leaders – President Bush says two thirds of al-Qaida’s leadership has been killed or captured – the terror network responsible for 9-11 still has a functioning leadership and over 18,000 potential terrorists in its global network, reports Fox News.
In response, Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert S. Mueller will hold a joint press conference later today to describe what is known of the threat. They will also ask Americans to be on the lookout for several particular al-Qaida operatives, reports the Washington Post.
Intelligence obtained last month pointing to a major attack on the American homeland sometime before Labor Day is corroborated by other intel “chatter” revolving around the change in government in Spain that immediately followed al-Qaida’s March 11 bombings in that country. Osama bin Laden’s terror network was reportedly emboldened and inspired by the apparent Spanish capitulation to terror.
“They saw that an attack of that nature can have economic and political consequences and have some impact on the electoral process,” one federal official privy to counterterrorism intelligence told the Post.
Probable targets? Both of the presidential nominating conventions this summer – the Democrats in Boston and the Republicans in New York – as well as the World War II Memorial ceremony this Saturday in Washington, D.C., and the Group of Eight summit June 8-10 in Georgia. Also of concern, outside the U.S., are the Summer Olympic Games in this August in Greece.
What kind of attack? Biggest concerns are over use a chemical, biological or radiological weapon that could cause much more damage and casualties than a conventional bomb. But, according to one FBI bulletin to law enforcement agencies, truck bombs are also a key concern. Still another FBI bulletin warns of suicide bombers – replete with warnings about people dressed in bulky jackets during warm weather, clothing that smells like chemicals or has trailing electrical wires, and the like. Bombers also could be disguised as pregnant women, the memo cautions.
The Department of Homeland Security’s top intelligence official, retired Lt. Gen. Patrick Hughes, warned earlier this month that al-Qaida may be planning to use a chemical or biological weapon in the U.S., mentioning specifically, anthrax and ricin.
“If the past is indeed prologue, then we are going to screw up, or they are going to get lucky. I can’t sleep,” Hughes said, according to the Associated Press.
Asking the public’s help
In a news conference yesterday, Los Angeles Police Department counterterrorism expert John Miller said: “We would be foolhardy to ignore those statements, but I think it would be irresponsible to panic.”
And New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly says his city has not been warned of a specific terrorist plot there, Fox News reports. “We are receiving highly sensitive intelligence information on a regular basis, including today, and there is nothing in that reporting to indicate a specific threat or looming attack against New York City,” Kelly said in a statement.
In response to the threats, the FBI has created a special task force focused entirely on this summer’s terror threat. It is designed to make sure no valuable pieces of information or intelligence go unconnected with other bits of information – a syndrome widely blamed for the agency’s failure to anticipate and prevent the catastrophic Sept. 11 attacks.
Ominously, one counterterrorism official told the Post, it is necessary for al-Qaida to pull off a large attack that kills large numbers of people, such as an attack on airlines or ships. Smaller attacks, such as a suicide bombing, would appear “weak” to the terror groups financiers, he said.
American citizens will reportedly be asked for their help in locating several suspected terrorist sympathizers, the Post reports. One person of interest, said the report, would likely be 32-year-old Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani woman with a doctorate in neurological science, as well as a man Siddiqui has been linked to, Adnan G. El Shukrijumah – a suspected member of al-Qaida.
Indeed, it was a member of the public – not law enforcement – that finally identified and was responsible for the capture of the Beltway snipers. Federal officials are evidently hoping Americans are up to the challenge again.
The International Institute of Strategic Studies’ “Strategic Survey 2003-4” says the U.S. remains al-Qaida’s prime target, and quotes one of the network’s leaders as saying 4 million Americans will have to be killed “as a prerequisite to any Islamic victory,” according to a report by the Associated Press.
“Al-Qaida must be expected to keep trying to develop more promising plans for terrorist operations in North America and Europe, potentially involving weapons of mass destruction,” the think tank’s director John Chipman told a news conference, AP reported. At the same time, Chipman added, the terror group will continue its attacks on “soft targets encompassing Americans, Europeans and Israelis and aiding the insurgency in Iraq.”
Vice President Dick Cheney, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld have all said they expect another terrorist attack before the November election, reports AP.
The 2 things Trump can do to make himself the GOAT president
Wayne Allyn Root