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Americans warned of new terror threat
Ashcroft gives no specifics, puts law enforcement on high alert
10/30/2001
WASHINGTON – For the second time this month, the government warned Americans
on Monday that a new wave of terrorist attacks could come any day, citing "a
credible threat."
"It is not specific, but it is information that we think the American people
have a good, mature judgment and capacity to accommodate and to understand,"
Attorney General John Ashcroft said. "We believe this threat to be credible, and for that reason, it should be
taken seriously," Mr. Ashcroft said. Authorities issued a similar terrorist warning Oct. 11, and, FBI Director
Robert Mueller said, "It may well have helped to avert such an attack." The new warning came as the administration announced a crackdown on
undocumented immigrants who have been linked to terrorism and as it defended the
war in Afghanistan. The FBI asked 18,000 law-enforcement agencies to go on a heightened state of
alert as White House officials notified state governments and Congress. Bush administration officials have long worried about a follow-up to Sept.
11, when hijackers rammed fuel-laden airplanes into the World Trade Center and
Pentagon. Some officials have also worried that the anthrax attacks may divert
attention from an even bigger and more deadly terrorist plot. Anthrax, toxic bacteria that have killed three people, continued to pop up in
buildings throughout Washington, landing in the State Department and chasing the
Supreme Court justices to a different courtroom. In addition, senators said one of their office buildings would remain closed
for at least another 16 days so that it could be thoroughly scrubbed of anthrax
with chlorine dioxide. A House office building will not re-open until at least
next week. In New Jersey, authorities announced that a 51-year-old woman who works near
an anthrax-tainted mail facility has the skin form of the disease. The woman
from Hamilton Township has been treated and released from a hospital, state
officials said. Her name was not released. In the meantime, President Bush defended his aides' response to the
bioterrorism attacks, saying, "I believe that lives have been saved as a result
of their diligent efforts." Convening his first meeting with the newly created Homeland Security Council,
Mr. Bush ordered a thorough review of foreign student visas – the documents that
helped one of the suspected hijackers get into the country. "Every American is a soldier, and every citizen is in this fight," Mr. Bush
said, expressing confidence that Americans would hang in for as long as it takes
to win the war on terrorism. "And I am proud of our country. Our country's
united and strong, and we're prepared." Critics have said the administration was slow to react to the proliferation
of anthrax-laced letters and provided conflicting information about the threat
facing Americans, particularly postal workers. Three people, including two postal workers from Washington, have died of
anthrax infections. Five others have contracted the more life-threatening
inhaled form of the disease, while seven others have been found to have the less
serious skin anthrax. Afghan concerns
The administration is also taking heat over its actions in
Afghanistan, where the military is going after Osama bin Laden, suspected
mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, and his al-Qaeda network. Aides said the
president had scheduled a Nov. 10 meeting with Pakistani President Pervez
Musharraf, who has expressed concerns over the direction of the U.S.-led war
effort.
Supreme Court officials reported anthrax contamination in the mailroom of the
massive marble courthouse, which was closed for testing last week because of
anthrax in an off-site mail distribution center. The justices conducted hearings
in an appeals court down the street, the first time they have convened outside
their ornate chambers since they opened in 1935. The State Department reported anthrax spores in a mailroom across the street
and in the main building itself. In addition, anthrax has been discovered at a
State Department mailing center 28 miles away in Sterling, Va., where
investigators believe a contract employee contracted inhaled anthrax. The Department of Health and Human Services also reported anthrax in one of
its buildings, where tenants include the Voice of America radio network and the
Food and Drug Administration. Conflicting reports
The administration is trying to meet this threat through the new
Homeland Security Council, but aides acknowledge they have had trouble unifying
their message.
Administration officials have offered conflicting opinions about the lethal
nature of anthrax delivered to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D. They
also failed to pick up on the possibility that anthrax mail may have infected
postal workers as it made its way through the mail system. Mail workers in Washington, New Jersey, and New York have protested that
Senate staff members got more prompt medical attention than they did. The administration wants Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge to be the point
person for public information, though critics have faulted him for at times
providing incomplete and conflicting information. Aides said Mr. Ridge would conduct briefings at least three times a week,
more if events warrant. But he will appear with other officials who can explain
the details of anthrax and other threats. On Monday, Mr. Ridge deferred to an
official with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and an Army major
general who specializes in biological weapons. "We're going to continue to take the same approach," Mr. Ridge said, "with me
speaking much less on matters of science and medicine and bringing the experts
along with me." The administration still does not know whether the anthrax was mailed by
domestic or international terrorists. "There are a lot of theories out there," Mr. Ridge said. "We just need some
facts to turn a theory into reality." The administration Monday also tried to deal with criticism of the bombing
campaign, which has been blamed by Afghanistan's ruling Taliban and other
Muslims for the death of scores of Afghan civilians. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said that the United States was doing what
it could to protect civilians and that every death in this war was due to the
Taliban's refusal to turn over Mr. bin Laden.