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发帖数: 412 | 1 http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-09/-credible-terrorist-th
New York police will increase security after receiving credible information
that terrorists may be plotting an attack in the city around the Sept. 11
anniversary, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.
“Terrorists view the anniversary as an opportunity to strike again,”
Bloomberg said yesterday at a press conference. “In the next few days we
should all keep our eyes wide open.”
New York police have stopped at least 13 terrorist attacks since 2001,
Bloomberg said. While the killing of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has
helped reduce the threat, the mayor said, “The one thing we know is the
terrorists have not gone away.”
The threat concerns a possible al-Qaeda-sponsored attack targeting New York
or Washington on or near the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attack, said
a U.S. official, who wasn’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly. The
official said the intelligence concerns a possible vehicle-borne attack,
perhaps on a transportation hub or bottleneck, and cautioned that the
options may be broader than a car or truck bombing.
Another intelligence official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity,
said the information hasn’t been fully vetted.
Terrorists view the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World
Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington as an opportunity to
strike again, said Janice Fedarcyk, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s
assistant director in charge of the New York office.
The information of a new plot was specific and credible, though not
corroborated, she said at the press conference with Bloomberg.
Police Alert
New York police officers will extend their shifts by four hours at least
through Sept. 12, said Commissioner Ray Kelly. Police will also increase
vehicle checks and monitoring of bridges and tunnels, Kelly said.
The mayor is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent
Bloomberg LP.
President Barack Obama was briefed on the threat yesterday and received
updates throughout the day, according to a statement from a White House
official who asked not to be identified.
Obama directed counter-terrorism officials to redouble their efforts, which
had already been increased in advance of the Sept. 11 anniversary, the White
House official said.
The first intelligence official said the report is credible largely because
of al-Qaeda’s longstanding interest in important anniversaries and symbolic
targets.
“Sometimes this reporting is credible and warrants intense focus,” Matt
Chandler, a U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesman, said in a
statement. “Other times it lacks credibility and is highly unlikely to be
reflective of real plots under way.”
‘All Steps Necessary’
“Regardless, we take all threat reporting seriously, and we have taken, and
will continue to take all steps necessary to mitigate any threats that
arise,” Chandler said.
New York Republican Congressman Peter King, who heads the House Homeland
Security Committee, said he was briefed on the threat, which he said was
specific and credible.
“All appropriate agencies, the federal government, and state officials and
local officials as well, are tracking it down to see if it is real, and if
so, how do we stop it,” King said.
Attorney General Eric Holder said in May that intelligence retrieved from
the compound in Pakistan where bin Laden was killed suggested that he wanted
to harm people around the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
To contact the reporters on this story: Henry Goldman in New York at
h******[email protected]; Seth Stern in Washington at s******[email protected];
John Walcott in Washington at j*******[email protected]
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Mark Tannenbaum at
m*****[email protected]; Mark Silva at m******[email protected] |
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