WASHINGTON – Travelers by air, land and sea faced heightened security Monday as the nation steeled itself against a possible grandiose terrorist attack that government officials say al-Qaida has signaled could be imminent. President Bush advised people to “go about their lives.”
“Our government is doing everything we can to protect our country,” Bush said. “American citizens need to go about their lives, but as they do so, they need to know that governments at all levels are working as hard as we possibly can to protect the American citizens.”
A major factor in the decision to raise the nation’s terror alert level from “elevated” to “high” was the holiday season, when more people are distracted and traveling and large numbers of people gather at events ranging from football bowl games to massive New Year’s celebrations in New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and elsewhere.
Yet the latest decision to go from “yellow” to “orange” on the terror risk scale was also based on specific, corroborated intelligence that al-Qaida may soon attempt to pull off a coordinated attack in multiple places to cause mass casualties – an attack that authorities said might eclipse that of Sept. 11, 2001.
“There are a number of credible sources that suggest the possibility of attacks around the holiday season and beyond,” said White House spokesman Scott McClellan. Such attacks, he added, are expected by terrorists being monitored overseas to “rival or exceed the scope” of those on Sept. 11 that killed about 3,000 people.
Several U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they had no specifics about a potential method, location or time of any attack. But they continued to point toward aviation as a prime possibility, noting that al-Qaida tends to return to what worked in the past.
Cargo planes and flights originating overseas were of special concern. Officials say steps have been taken to improve security in both areas, but some critics call for the screening of all packages on cargo planes to prevent smuggling of bombs.
A particular focus is screening of cargo containers at seaports in the United States and abroad, said Robert Bonner, commissioner of the Customs and Border Protection
Defense Department officials said they were launching more military air patrols over major cities, but they would provide no details.
Another layer of protection was likely put in place over the past 24 hours that is not outwardly apparent, security experts said. Among the likely steps was an increase in the number of air marshals, particularly on flights arriving from overseas, and undercover surveillance around airports, said Brian Jenkins, research associate at the Mineta Transportation Institute at San Jose State University and a special adviser to the Rand Corp.
Federal officials would not discuss their planning at such a detailed level.
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