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Threat Assessment: No New Alerts Issued, Officials Say U.S law enforcement and intelligence officials said there have been no new credible terrorist attack warnings and no new alerts have been issued recently, the New York Times reported today. During his State of the Union address Tuesday night, President George W. Bush said that documents were found in Afghanistan that included nuclear power plant diagrams and landmark descriptions (see GSN, Jan. 30). Counterterrorism officials, however, said they did not have any information on specific plans for an attack. The documents found inside Afghanistan might indicate there is a plot to launch another attack, intelligence officers said, but there is no additional information that such a plot exists. The documents “certainly show intent,” said one official. “But were there any definite plans? That’s where you need to get multiple sources and interview folks. So far, we haven’t had enough to issue any new alerts” (Johnston/Risen, New York Times, Feb. 1). Another Attack “Likely” U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld yesterday said the United States is “likely” to experience another terrorist attack, one that could do more damage than those committed on Sept. 11 (see GSN, Dec. 18, 2001). “In the years ahead, it is likely that we will be surprised again by new adversaries who may also strike in unexpected ways,” Rumsfeld said in a speech at the National Defense University in Washington. “And as they gain access to weapons of increasing power — and let there be no doubt that they are — these attacks will grow vastly more deadly than those we suffered several months ago” (Bryan Bender, Boston Globe, Feb. 1). “Sleeping” Terrorists “Sleeper cells” of terrorists might still be covertly operating inside the United States, FBI Director Robert Mueller said yesterday. He added that, while there is no information of any specific threats, recent information taken from interviews with captured al-Qaeda terrorists and the documents seized in Afghanistan indicate that the United States needs to remain on “a very high state of alert.” “There are people plotting these kinds of things and we have very high-profile events coming up,” Mueller said. “We have moved heaven and Earth to provide security” for the Super Bowl and Winter Olympics (see GSN, Jan. 22), he said (Laura Sullivan, Baltimore Sun, Feb. 1).
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