Threat Assessment:  Washington Warns of Al-Qaeda WMD Attack

The United States believes there is a “high probability” that al-Qaeda members will attempt an attack with weapons of mass destruction within two years, according to a report released by the United Nations yesterday (see GSN, June 3).

The April U.S. report was prepared in response to a U.N. resolution requiring members to increase efforts against al-Qaeda, according to Reuters.  The U.S. report said al-Qaeda will continue to acquire weapons of mass destruction and could use them in attacks against targets such as banks, supermarkets and shopping malls, as well as in “spectacular attacks.”

“We judge that there is a high probability that al-Qaeda will attempt an attack using a CBRN [chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear] weapon within the next two years,” the report said (Reuters/Yahoo!News, June 9).

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U.S. Response:  Alert System Needs Modification, Ridge Says

The color-coded U.S. terrorism alert level system must be modified to improve the system’s usefulness, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said yesterday (see GSN, June 3).

“We worry about the credibility of the system,” Ridge said.  “We want to continue to refine it, because we understand it has caused a kind of anxiety,” he said.

Ridge said he hoped the system could be changed to allow for alerts targeting specific regions or industries, while leaving the overall level unchanged for others, the New York Times reported today.  “We’ve only had it in operation for a year, but our hope is to refine it in the months and years ahead so we can get that kind of specificity,” Ridge said.

One concern is that terrorism-related intelligence is currently too “generic” to allow for such specificity, Ridge said.  “There will come a time, I believe, that we’ll have that kind of — a word they like to use in intelligence — granularity, that kind of specificity, that we’ll be able to do that,” he said.

Ridge praised the overall effectiveness of the alert level system, however, despite its flaws, according to the New York Times.

“The threat advisory system, I believe, is an essential means of communication to the citizens,” Ridge said.  “It means that the intelligence community says at this particular period of time, we think the threat’s been increased,” he added (Philip Shenon, New York Times, June 6).

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Threat Assessment:  Canada Frequent Target for WMD-Related Procurement Activities, Report Says

Rogue states and terrorist organizations often seek WMD-related materials from Canada, the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service said yesterday in an annual report (see GSN, Jan. 8).

Canada is a “frequent target for clandestine and illicit procurement activities” for countries and groups seeking to develop weapons of mass destruction because it is “an internationally recognized leader in many high-technology sectors (such as the nuclear, chemical, pharmaceutical, biotechnological, electronics and aerospace sectors),” the report says. 

In its report, the CSIS also warned that a number of groups or individuals associated with international terrorist groups were active in Canada.  In particular, Sunni Islam-related groups remain “the primary focus of the CSIS counterterrorism program,” the report says (Agence France-Presse, June 6).

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U.S. Response:  Lawmakers Upset Over Port Security Funding Diversion

U.S. lawmakers expressed distress Tuesday about the Transportation Security Administration’s effort to divert port security funding to aviation security efforts, the Newport News Daily Press reported yesterday (see GSN, May 20).

The transportation agency, part of the U.S. Homeland Security Department, asked to move $105 million in port security funding to cover aviation security.

“I’m very concerned,” said Representative Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.), chairman of the House Transportation subcommittee that oversees the Coast Guard.  “We’re going to have to somehow revisit this,” he added.

Representatives said the move would shortchange the Coast Guard.

“I fear the Coast Guard is being stretched way too thin,” said Representative James Oberstar (D-Minn.), the senior Democrat on the House Transportation Committee.

Port security efforts are also hampered because funding has not yet been provided for the 7-month-old Maritime Transportation Security Act, the Daily Press reported.  Under that bill, the Coast Guard was ordered to conduct vulnerability assessments and security plans for 55 of the nation’s largest ports.

At a subcommittee hearing Tuesday, Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thomas Collins said he was confident the assessments would be completed.

“I see no major potholes on the road to pursuing the vulnerability assessments,” he said, expressing confidence that the port security flap would be resolved soon (David Lerman, Newport News Daily Press, June 4).

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U.S. Response:  Constutional Amendment Needed In Case Congress Wiped Out by Terrorists

By David McGlinchey
Global Security Newswire

WASHINGTON — Fearing a bioterrorist attack that could wipe out Congress, an independent commission today recommended that the United States adopt a constitutional amendment to allow for rapidly replacing members of the House of Representatives (see GSN, Sept. 11, 2002).

Compared to the Cold War, “there is a much greater likelihood of an attack incapacitating large numbers of [congressional] members,” according to the report from the Continuity of Government Commission, conducted by the American Enterprise Institute and the Brookings Institution.

The report, Preserving Our Institutions, recommended a constitutional amendment to allow for appointees to succeed members of the House of Representatives.  After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, lawmakers discussed the possibility of allowing appointed representatives but members resisted change to the tradition of maintaining elected officials in the House at all times.  State governors can appoint a senator if a seat is vacant (Frank Davies, Philadelphia Inquirer, June 4).

“Because of the availability of chemical and biological agents, the possibility of mass incapacitation is real.  A chemical attack might leave thousands in burn units or with respiratory and neurological injuries,” the report said.

The report also specifically noted the threat posed by smallpox and anthrax.  “If even a few members of Congress contracted the disease, the members might choose not to convene for fear of spreading the disease,” according to the report.

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