Ridge Admits No Mention Of Attack Timeframe: Arrest In Pakistan Led To Orange Alert
Cable News Network
8-3-4
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Information seized from a suspected al Qaeda computer expert
was largely responsible for the increased threat level for three East Coast
financial districts, U.S. and Pakistani officials said Monday.
A U.S. intelligence official said the previously unannounced arrest of a 25-year-old
computer expert July 13 in Pakistan yielded evidence that detailed potential
attacks against New York; Newark, New Jersey; and Washington.
The U.S. official identified the man as Muhammad Naeem Moor Khan. But Pakistani
authorities said the man's identity could not be confirmed because he has used
multiple aliases in the past.
Khan was described as a possible "node" in al Qaeda operations, with
information flowing through him, possibly by computer.
Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani -- a Tanzanian arrested last week in connection with
al Qaeda's bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa in 1998 -- also provided
"very important" information, Pakistani Information Minister Sheikh
Rashid Ahmad said Monday.
Also, a senior Pakistani intelligence official said seven more suspected al
Qaeda members have been taken into custody since Ghailani's arrest -- including
one who was trying to leave the country Monday morning.
Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge urged Americans on Monday to go about
their business as usual, even though he said terrorists want to "undermine
the economy of the United States."
Ridge said the intelligence suggested terrorists may be targeting the New York
Stock Exchange and Citigroup headquarters in New York, insurance giant Prudential
Financial's headquarters in Newark, and the International Monetary Fund and
World Bank buildings in Washington. But he said nothing indicated the threat
was imminent.
Ridge raised the color-coded alert level for terror threats in those areas from
yellow, or elevated, to orange, or high.
"There was no mention of when an attack could occur, but we don't have
the luxury of guessing," he said.
However, he said raising the threat level in specific areas will make the buildings
safer and people in them more aware.
This is the first time the terror threat system has been used to raise the threat
level in targeted areas, rather than nationwide.
A New York law enforcement source said reconnaissance information was so specific
that it appears potential attackers may have conducted surveillance inside the
buildings, perhaps over several years.
Impact on cities
In New York, police stopped trucks and vans at toll booths.
Authorities banned commercial traffic from using the Holland Tunnel to travel
from New Jersey into Lower Manhattan, and rerouted it to the Lincoln Tunnel
and George Washington Bridge, which cross the Hudson River farther north of
the financial district.
Officers with rifles and body armor patrolled the financial district.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he took the subway to work, and that the
increased security "should give everybody comfort."
"New York City is not going to be cowed by the terrorists," Bloomberg
said. "Make no mistake about that. We're not going to spare any expense
in protecting us, but also, the people of New York City know that giving in
to terrorism is exactly the wrong thing to do."
Metropolitan Police Chief Charles Ramsey said the Washington offices of the
World Bank and IMF "were specifically mentioned."
"This is information that was uncovered. We'd be remiss if we didn't act
on it like we did," he said. "This could have just been a plan that
was a plan B or plan C and was never going to be implemented. We have no way
of knowing."
Ramsey and Capitol Hill Police Chief Terrance Gainer said they expect the increased
security around the buildings to remain in effect through at least the November
election.
As part of the increased security, police around the U.S. Capitol have begun
inspecting every car that drives by the Capitol and its office buildings.
Police will operate about 10 "vehicle screening checkpoints" around
the perimeter of the Capitol complex, including heavily traveled Constitution
and Independence avenues from about 3rd Street on the west side and 2nd Street
on the east side.
New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey said his state was "very well-prepared"
and that the orange alert was being "implemented on an almost seamless
basis."
"We're providing for strong employee identification," McGreevey said.
"We've also instituted road barriers, very much as you would upon an entrance
in terms of a military installation to provide police to be able to conduct
surveillance.
"We have canine and bomb units out," he added. "Our state police
are on ferries and trains, and we automatically implement every time we go to
level orange certain safety protocols that are adopted by the financial-services
industry."
CNN's Mike Brooks, Ed Henry, Suzanne Malveaux, Jamie McShane and Jeanne Meserve
contributed to this report.
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