WP: Pre-9/11 Acts Led To Alerts--Officials Not Sure Al Qaeda Continued

[NewHampshireDem]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35466-2004Aug2.html

Officials Not Sure Al Qaeda Continued To Spy on Buildings

Most of the al Qaeda surveillance of five financial institutions that led to a new terrorism alert Sunday was conducted before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and authorities are not sure whether the casing of the buildings has continued, numerous intelligence and law enforcement officials said yesterday.

More than half a dozen government officials interviewed yesterday, who declined to be identified because classified information is involved, said that most, if not all, of the information about the buildings seized by authorities in a raid in Pakistan last week was about three years old, and possibly older.

"There is nothing right now that we're hearing that is new," said one senior law enforcement official who was briefed on the alert. "Why did we go to this level? . . . I still don't know that."

<snip>
The characterization of the age of the intelligence yesterday cast a new light on Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge's announcement Sunday that the terrorism threat alert for the financial services sectors in the three cities had been raised. Ridge and other officials stressed Sunday the urgency of acting on the newly obtained information, but yesterday a range of officials made clear how dated much of the intelligence was.
<more>

[Nambe]

1. The Post article coyly matched alerts to *'s script for today.

NYC should sue for the million$ spent on today's security. Enter Hillary. You go girl.

[dbt]

2. Possibly older than three years?

Hmmmm. It's just as possible, then that this is the intelligence that AQ was working on before the 911 attacks--now isn't it?

Just as surely as the sun rises in the east, every time bu$h gets in trouble, a Terra Lert is declared.

It's time for them to go.

:freak:
dbt

[ClintonTyree]

3. And.............

this information was released at this precise moment. It has NOTHING to do with the DNC or Kerry stumping around the country making Bush look like the schmuck he is, nothing to do with that. :eyes: It was just a coincidence that they happened to release this information now, really citizens. Now duct tape your homes and go shopping, that is all.

[2Design]

4. Kerry came in under budget for security in Boston... I wonder if

this is another way that Bush will let the taxpayers pay for Rethug convention instead of from his fund raising. He has managed to spend our dollars on much of his campaign trips so far....

this could be a prelude to his using an alert to have security paid for by us, the TAXPAYER, during RNC and not allow protests.

[lottie244]

5. The "updated" info was the date the Paks accessed the file.

I bet you any thing that there were recent dates of access and nothing more. This lying scumbag administration is driving me nuts!