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Security High for U.S. Political Conventions
The United States is stepping up security efforts as its two major political parties prepare for their presidential nominating conventions this summer, the Washington Post reported today (see GSN, May 24). The Democratic Party convention in Boston and Republican Party convention in New York “will bring to bear more protective measures than any in history, and while many of these measures can be seen, others like weapons of mass destruction detection equipment won’t be seen,” said Homeland Security Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse. U.S. intelligence officials have concluded that al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups are determined to launch an election-altering attack on the United States similar to the March 11 Madrid train bombings that preceded the defeat of Spain’s government days later. Such conclusions are based on what officials refer to as incontrovertible classified intelligence, including electronic surveillance. However, officials added that they have no intelligence specifying the time or place of an attack, according to the Post. Federal agents are due to inspect sewers and weld shut manholes around the two convention centers, and to remove nearby mailboxes and most trash cans, according to the Post. Coast Guard craft are set to survey waterways, while police officers guard ventilation systems of hotels where delegates stay, and dozens of emergency response teams wait in warehouses in case of chemical or biological attack (John Mintz, Washington Post, July 6).
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