Terror Warning Issued for Rail, Transit
By Deborah Charles
Reuters
WASHINGTON (May 23) - The Department of Transportation has issued a warning about possible attacks on rail and transit systems across the country, law enforcement officials said on Thursday.
The department's warning was sent out on Wednesday and was based on unconfirmed and uncorroborated information, one law enforcement official said.
"It involves rail and transit systems ... and is about possible attacks," he said.
The Department of Transportation consulted the FBI before issuing the warning, but the FBI did not put out a matching alert or advisory to law enforcement officials across the country, the official said.
He did not have details on how many cities' transit systems were being put on alert.
Transportation Department spokesman Chet Lunner said that although the general threat was made against subway systems and no particular cities were targeted, the department decided to expand its advisory to include rail systems across the country as well.
The department is not advising the rail and transit systems to take any special precautions as part of its warning other than to maintain heightened awareness, Lunner said.
This is the latest of a series of warnings eight months after hijacked airplanes slammed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field on Sept. 11, killing about 3,000 people.
Over the past week, a host of top U.S. officials have issued a series of warnings of possible fresh attacks on the United States.
Vice President Dick Cheney warned over the weekend about the probability that extremists could launch fresh attacks. FBI Director Robert Mueller said on Monday another attack was "inevitable," and told President George W. Bush this week that it would be difficult to stop another attack.
Officials said there has been a lot of intelligence coming in over the past few weeks warning of a possible attack, but they said it varied in terms of specificity and reliability.
The FBI already warned this week of possible general threats against landmarks in New York City, including the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge.
The United States blames Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda network for the Sept. 11 attacks, and a detained member of bin Laden's inner circle has been the source of many of the recent warnings.
Senior al Qaeda leader Abu Zubaydah, who was captured in Pakistan in March, has provided information recently that has led to alerts about possible threats to the landmarks in New York, apartment buildings, banks in northeastern U.S. states, supermarkets and shopping malls.
Officials acknowledge Zubaydah may not be telling the whole truth, but officials are erring on the sign of caution as they issue warnings.
The law enforcement official did not know the source of the information for the warning on transit and rail systems.
But another U.S. official said it was not believed to be linked to Zubaydah.
05/23/02 22:36 ET
Copyright 2002 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
Blake Harris
Vice Dean, Limbaugh Institute for Advanced Conservative Studies
[Link Expired]
By Deborah Charles
Reuters
WASHINGTON (May 23) - The Department of Transportation has issued a warning about possible attacks on rail and transit systems across the country, law enforcement officials said on Thursday.
The department's warning was sent out on Wednesday and was based on unconfirmed and uncorroborated information, one law enforcement official said.
"It involves rail and transit systems ... and is about possible attacks," he said.
The Department of Transportation consulted the FBI before issuing the warning, but the FBI did not put out a matching alert or advisory to law enforcement officials across the country, the official said.
He did not have details on how many cities' transit systems were being put on alert.
Transportation Department spokesman Chet Lunner said that although the general threat was made against subway systems and no particular cities were targeted, the department decided to expand its advisory to include rail systems across the country as well.
The department is not advising the rail and transit systems to take any special precautions as part of its warning other than to maintain heightened awareness, Lunner said.
This is the latest of a series of warnings eight months after hijacked airplanes slammed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field on Sept. 11, killing about 3,000 people.
Over the past week, a host of top U.S. officials have issued a series of warnings of possible fresh attacks on the United States.
Vice President Dick Cheney warned over the weekend about the probability that extremists could launch fresh attacks. FBI Director Robert Mueller said on Monday another attack was "inevitable," and told President George W. Bush this week that it would be difficult to stop another attack.
Officials said there has been a lot of intelligence coming in over the past few weeks warning of a possible attack, but they said it varied in terms of specificity and reliability.
The FBI already warned this week of possible general threats against landmarks in New York City, including the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge.
The United States blames Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda network for the Sept. 11 attacks, and a detained member of bin Laden's inner circle has been the source of many of the recent warnings.
Senior al Qaeda leader Abu Zubaydah, who was captured in Pakistan in March, has provided information recently that has led to alerts about possible threats to the landmarks in New York, apartment buildings, banks in northeastern U.S. states, supermarkets and shopping malls.
Officials acknowledge Zubaydah may not be telling the whole truth, but officials are erring on the sign of caution as they issue warnings.
The law enforcement official did not know the source of the information for the warning on transit and rail systems.
But another U.S. official said it was not believed to be linked to Zubaydah.
05/23/02 22:36 ET
Copyright 2002 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
Blake Harris
Vice Dean, Limbaugh Institute for Advanced Conservative Studies
[Link Expired]
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