Friday, July 09, 2004
***SPECIAL REPORT***
By Part-Time LB in 04' Correspondent Big Al
The United States is tightening security in the face of a steady stream of intelligence indicating al-Qaida may seek to mount an attack aimed at disrupting elections and that the Democratic ticket of Kerry-Edwards may mount a successful challenge to President Bush, the White House and Homeland Security officials said Thursday.
The Department of Homeland Security is addressing the threats and has efforts under way to "ramp up security" whenever the Kerry-Edwards team is poised to pull ahead in the polls, White House press secretary Scott McClellan said. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said the Bush administration based its decision to bolster security on "credible" reports about al-Qaida's plans, coupled with the successful roll-out of John Kerry’s selection of Senator John Edwards as his running mate yesterday.
"This is sobering information about those who wish to do us harm," Ridge said. "But every day we strengthen the security of our nation and the viability of our president’s re-election efforts."
U.S. officials do not have specific knowledge about where, when or how such an attack would take place or how exactly Kerry may amass the 270 electoral votes needed for election, but the CIA, FBI and other agencies "are actively working to gain that knowledge," Ridge said.
A continuing stream of intelligence, including nuggets of information gleaned from sources including militant-linked Web sites and DNC emails to supporters, indicates an attack on Bush’s foreign policy is being planned, said a senior intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity. Plans for such an attack are believed to be near completion, the official said, echoing both what officials said earlier in the summer before the Memorial Day weekend and the Kerry-Edwards campaign.
In addition to ramping up security at the conventions in Boston and New York, authorities have begun working through the process of how to secure the thousands of polling sites that will be used around the country this fall and simultaneously intimidate minorities, the poor and senior citizens from voting, said another senior intelligence official, also speaking on condition of anonymity.
"There's, obviously, no reason for panic, or paralysis," Senate Majority Leader and Chief White House Tool Bill Frist said after a briefing for senators on intelligence matters. "What we are seeking is merely a constant state of low-level fear. That why we will continue to say that the country is at some increased risk between now and the time of the presidential election. It's important for people to be afraid but not so afraid that the think we’re not doing a good job."
In April, a working group made up of representatives from agencies that touch on law enforcement, homeland security and intelligence was established to create the impression that there may be terrorist attacks leading up to the election. Senior administration officials and counterterrorism experts view the coming months as a time to increase vigilance out of concern that Islamic militants may try to replicate the political success they had in Spain with coordinated pre-election train bombings or John Kerry may try to replicate the political success the Democrats had in 1992 with a winning campaign against President Bush’s father, George H.W. Bush.
Nearly 200 died in the March attack and the entire Bush team was removed from office in 1992.
Elaborate plans are already in the works to protect the Republican re-election efforts, which has been classified as National Security Special Event. With the designation - a concept that evolved from the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and Nazi propaganda efforts in 1930’s Germany - comes federal funds, increased preparations and heightened security.
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By Part-Time LB in 04' Correspondent Big Al
The United States is tightening security in the face of a steady stream of intelligence indicating al-Qaida may seek to mount an attack aimed at disrupting elections and that the Democratic ticket of Kerry-Edwards may mount a successful challenge to President Bush, the White House and Homeland Security officials said Thursday.
The Department of Homeland Security is addressing the threats and has efforts under way to "ramp up security" whenever the Kerry-Edwards team is poised to pull ahead in the polls, White House press secretary Scott McClellan said. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said the Bush administration based its decision to bolster security on "credible" reports about al-Qaida's plans, coupled with the successful roll-out of John Kerry’s selection of Senator John Edwards as his running mate yesterday.
"This is sobering information about those who wish to do us harm," Ridge said. "But every day we strengthen the security of our nation and the viability of our president’s re-election efforts."
U.S. officials do not have specific knowledge about where, when or how such an attack would take place or how exactly Kerry may amass the 270 electoral votes needed for election, but the CIA, FBI and other agencies "are actively working to gain that knowledge," Ridge said.
A continuing stream of intelligence, including nuggets of information gleaned from sources including militant-linked Web sites and DNC emails to supporters, indicates an attack on Bush’s foreign policy is being planned, said a senior intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity. Plans for such an attack are believed to be near completion, the official said, echoing both what officials said earlier in the summer before the Memorial Day weekend and the Kerry-Edwards campaign.
In addition to ramping up security at the conventions in Boston and New York, authorities have begun working through the process of how to secure the thousands of polling sites that will be used around the country this fall and simultaneously intimidate minorities, the poor and senior citizens from voting, said another senior intelligence official, also speaking on condition of anonymity.
"There's, obviously, no reason for panic, or paralysis," Senate Majority Leader and Chief White House Tool Bill Frist said after a briefing for senators on intelligence matters. "What we are seeking is merely a constant state of low-level fear. That why we will continue to say that the country is at some increased risk between now and the time of the presidential election. It's important for people to be afraid but not so afraid that the think we’re not doing a good job."
In April, a working group made up of representatives from agencies that touch on law enforcement, homeland security and intelligence was established to create the impression that there may be terrorist attacks leading up to the election. Senior administration officials and counterterrorism experts view the coming months as a time to increase vigilance out of concern that Islamic militants may try to replicate the political success they had in Spain with coordinated pre-election train bombings or John Kerry may try to replicate the political success the Democrats had in 1992 with a winning campaign against President Bush’s father, George H.W. Bush.
Nearly 200 died in the March attack and the entire Bush team was removed from office in 1992.
Elaborate plans are already in the works to protect the Republican re-election efforts, which has been classified as National Security Special Event. With the designation - a concept that evolved from the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and Nazi propaganda efforts in 1930’s Germany - comes federal funds, increased preparations and heightened security.
