> F.B.I. Issues Alert on Signs of New Terror > > October 12, 2001 > > By DAVID JOHNSTON and PHILIP SHENON > > > > > WASHINGTON, Oct. 11 - The F.B.I. issued a warning this > afternoon that there could be new terror attacks in the > United States or abroad in the next several days. > > The stark and urgent alert, based on new intelligence > information, gave no information about the gravity or > nature of the threat and did not indicate where or how an > attack might occur. > > "Certain information, while not specific as to target, > gives the government reason to believe that there may be > additional terrorist attacks within the United States and > against U.S. interests overseas over the next several > days," the Federal Bureau of Investigation said. > > In recent days, senior counterintelligence officials have > told the White House and Congress in classified briefings > that Osama bin Laden's terror network, Al Qaeda, presented > a continuing threat fully capable of renewed attacks in the > United States or overseas. > > In the public statement today, the law enforcement agency > said, "The F.B.I. has again alerted all local law > enforcement to be on the highest alert, and we call on all > people to immediately notify the F.B.I. and local law > enforcement of any unusual or suspicious activity." > > The statement provided no additional information. But a > senior government official said the decision to issue the > warning was made after the C.I.A. received information on > Wednesday about a planned attack. The information came from > a foreign source whom the agency had determined from > experience to be credible. The information has not been > confirmed by other sources, and it did not include > specifics about what would happen or where. > > In the current environment, the official added, no one in > the government was prepared to do anything but take it > seriously. > > Since Sept. 11, the F.B.I. and the Justice Department have > repeatedly warned of new terrorist attacks. Attorney > General John Ashcroft said two weeks ago that another > attack was likely. Today's warning was the first, however, > in which either agency had issued a warning of an attack > within a specific period - in this case, several days. > > On Tuesday a top aide to Mr. bin Laden, Sleiman > Abou-Gheith, threatened more violence against Americans, in > a videotape delivered to a Qatar-based television network. > > Tonight, President Bush said at a news conference that the > alert was justified and based on a general threat to the > country. > > "I have urged our fellow Americans to go about their lives, > to fly on airplanes, to travel, to go to work," Mr. Bush > said. "But I also want to encourage them by telling them > their government's on full alert. And that alert put out > today from the Justice Department was such an action." > > Senior law enforcement officials said the heightened threat > assessment, given to the White House and Congress in recent > days, was based on intelligence gleaned from electronic > eavesdropping, as well as evidence accumulated over the > last week by the F.B.I., C.I.A. and foreign security > agencies. > > The information includes evidence of additional Al Qaeda > cells in the United States and overseas that were unknown > before the Sept. 11 attacks. The officials said they > believed that the hundreds of arrests of Al Qaeda followers > in the United States and abroad had disrupted some plans > for other attacks, but also ratcheted up concern that more > Al Qaeda cells might continue to operate undetected. > > Documents made public in Alexandria, Va. today revealed > that on Wednesday, a federal grand jury indicted a > 32-year-old Saudi, Khalid al- Draibi, who was arrested on > Sept. 11 near Dulles International Airport in Washington. > > The authorities said Mr. al-Draibi had been driving a car > with a flat tire and carrying flight manuals and several > drivers licenses. He was charged with lying in his visa > application, and with claiming to the F.B.I. that he was an > American citizen. > > Federal investigators have been unsettled by the discovery > that others identified as Islamic militants took > flight-training courses in the United States and > investigated crop- dusting aircraft for purposes that > remain unclear. > > American law enforcement officials said the existence of Al > Qaeda groups overseas suggested not only a threat abroad > but also a threat in the United States, because of the > investigators' determination that the hijackings were > largely planned in Germany and other European countries. > > The investigation conducted around the world since Sept. 11 > has resulted in a fundamentally altered conception among > senior officials of what Al Qaeda is, how it operates and > who guides its followers to commit terrorist acts. The > group was once thought of as a dangerous, but largely > undisciplined, band of aggrieved Islamic militants whose > links to Osama bin Laden were mainly spiritual. But senior > counterterrorism officials said their investigation had > produced a starkly different picture. > > One senior investigator said the evidence assembled since > Sept. 11 suggested that Al Qaeda had some characteristics > comparable to a drug cartel or mafia family. Like members > of crime organizations, Al Qaeda operatives rely on a > secretive central hierarchy for money, manpower and > managerial expertise. > > In the case of the Sept. 11 attacks, investigators have > uncovered evidence of a core group by reconstructing the > movements of each of the 19 hijackers, concentrating on a > few like Mohamed Atta, a central figure in the plot. > > "We keep getting a better picture of where the money is > coming from and a better picture of who's in charge," one > senior official said. "We keep trying to tie people back to > ones we don't know, but we haven't been able to take it all > the way back yet." > > Witnesses and documents had placed Mr. Atta, during the > planning phase for the attacks, in Germany, Spain and the > Czech Republic and possibly in Afghanistan, where he had > meetings with Al Qaeda lieutenants who appeared to have > supplied him with financial support, logistical support, > advice on false identity documents and personnel. > > One senior law enforcement official said the government had > not known much about Al Qaeda until after the East Africa > Embassy bombings in 1998. Their knowledge grew with > painstaking slowness over the years, though it began to > accelerate in October 2000, after the attack on the Navy > destroyer Cole. > > Since the Sept. 11 attacks, officials said, more than 500 > Arab immigrants had been arrested or detained, most on > immigration charges that could result in their deportation > but not in criminal charges. > > Mr. al-Draibi, the indicted Saudi man, is accused of having > made false statements to obtain an American visa last > January from the United States Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi > Arabia. According to the indictment, Mr. al-Draibi lied > when he claimed in his visa application that he was coming > to the United States for one month to visit his brother. > > Mr. al-Draibi's lawyer, Drewry B. Hutcheson Jr., > acknowledged in an interview that Mr. al-Draibi had no > brother in the United States. > > Mr. Hutcheson said that Mr. al- Draibi had insisted > consistently that he had no connection with the Sept. 11 > attacks and that he knew none of the 19 hijackers. > > http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/12/national/12INQU.html?ex=1003908967&ei=1&en =44fa864683fdf53f > > > > HOW TO ADVERTISE > --------------------------------- > For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters > or other creative advertising opportunities with The > New York Times on the Web, please contact Alyson > Racer at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit our online media > kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo > > For general information about NYTimes.com, write to > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Copyright 2001 The New York Times Company > Bob Simons
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