White House Has Some Terror Experts Worried

[jbfam4]

August 11, 2004
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-terror11aug11,1,6583785.story?coll=la-home-world

White House Has Some Terror Experts Worried
Officials here and overseas say U.S. alerts and release of information could hinder broader investigations.

By Jeffrey Fleishman, Times Staff Writer

BERLIN — Heightened terror alerts and high-profile arrests of suspected Islamic extremists have international security experts and officials concerned that the Bush administration's actions could jeopardize investigations into the Al Qaeda network.

European terrorism analysts acknowledge that the U.S. and its allies are under threat by Al Qaeda, but some suggest that the White House is unnecessarily adding to public anxiety with vague and dated intelligence about possible attacks. Some in Western Europe suspect the administration is using fear to improve its chances in the November election.

Terrorism experts say too much publicity about possible plots and raids of Islamic extremist networks, including the arrest of 13 suspects in Britain last week, could hurt wider investigations. American politicians have called for an examination of that contention. Officials in Pakistan reportedly said Tuesday that Washington's recent disclosure of the arrest of a suspected Al Qaeda operative, Mohammed Naeem Noor Khan, allowed other extremists under surveillance to disappear.


British security officials are angry over recent U.S. revelations of terrorist threats and arrests, said Paul Beaver, an international defense analyst based in London. He said the attitude among some British intelligence officials was that the "Americans have a very strange way of thanking their friends, by revealing names of agents, details of plots and operations."

Along with such criticism, the administration faces questions at home about how it handles terrorism investigations and alerts. It insists it hasn't used the alerts to further Bush's political campaign, but some Democrats disagree.

[realFedUp]

1. This isn't really an editorial

It's supposed to be news.....

[zbdent]

2. Isn't this White House a danger to

CIA operatives and deep cover agents?