Tom Ridge Claims He Was Pressured to Raise Terror Alert

Former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge claims in a new book that he was pressured by other members of President George W. Bush’s Cabinet to raise the nation’s terror alert level just before the 2004 presidential election.

Ridge says he objected to raising the security level despite the urgings of former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and then-Attorney General John Ashcroft, according to a publicity release from Ridge’s publisher. He said the episode convinced him to follow through with his plans to leave the administration; he resigned on Nov. 30, 2004.

Bush’s former homeland security adviser, Frances Townsend, said Thursday that politics never played a role in determining alert levels.

Two tapes were released by Al Qaeda in the weeks leading up to the election — one by terrorist leader Usama bin Laden and the other by a man calling himself “Azzam the American.” Terrorism experts suspected that “Azzam the American” was Adam Gadahn, a 26-year-old Californian whom the FBI had been urgently seeking.

Townsend said the videotapes contained “very graphic” and “threatening” messages.

Townsend said that anytime there was a discussion of changing the alert level, she first spoke with Ridge and then, if necessary, called a meeting of the homeland security council comprising the secretaries of defense and homeland security, the attorney general and CIA and FBI directors. The group then made a recommendation to the president about whether the color-coded threat level should be raised.

“Never were politics ever discussed in this context in my presence,” she said.

Asked if there was any reason for Ridge to have felt pressured, Townsend said: “He was certainly not pressured. And, by the way, he didn’t object when it was raised and he certainly didn’t object when it wasn’t raised.”

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al Qaeda-Taliban Combo Has Chemical Weapon Formula

The al-Qaida-Taliban combo plans to use parts of the Middle East as launch pads for attacks against the west. Not only so, the groups

have also developed some expertise in making bio-chemical weapons, NWFP police chief Malik Navid told a Pakistan National Assembly’s standing committee.

Navid warned that the Pakistan government needed to urgently focus on containing militancy as it spread from its bases. “Taliban’s philosophy is to create pockets everywhere,” he said, adding that jihadi groups were moving through southern Punjab and eventually aimed to reach the financial hub of Karachi.

The frank assessment of the police official serves to confirm concerns about whether Pakistan and its military complex in particular was prepared to clearly acknowledge the threat posed by jihadists given the army and ISI see Taliban as allies in ensuring a “friendly” dispensation in Afghanistan while also feeding the jihad in Jammu and Kashmir. The army’s sporadic efforts to roll back jihadis lacked conviction and have predictably shown poor results.

Navid’s testimony also points to the virtual merger of al-Qaida with Taliban, with the latter being both part of the core and the major striking arm. Indian intelligence assessments see anti-India groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba being very much a part of this conglomerate.

via ‘Qaida-Taliban combo has chemical weapon formula’ – South Asia – World – The Times of India.

Thousands Receive Terror Training In UK

Thousands of UK workers are being trained to help respond to a future terror attack as part of an updated counter-terror strategy, ministers say.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said shop and hotel workers would be among 60,000 people able to deal with an incident.

The updated approach, aimed at tackling immediate terrorist threats and the causes of extremism, would be the most comprehensive in the world, she added.

But the Tories said not enough action was being taken against extremists.

The Home Office’s new counter-terrorism document – to be published on Tuesday – will go into more detail than ever before in the interests of public accountability.

It will reflect intelligence opinion that the biggest threat to the UK comes from al-Qaeda-linked groups and will also take into account recent attacks on hotels in the Indian city of Mumbai.

Ms Smith told BBC One’s Politics Show: “What we’re completely clear about is that if we’re going to address the threat from terrorism, we need to do that alongside the 60,000 people that we’re now training up to respond to a terrorist threat, in everywhere from our shopping centres to our hotels.

“We need to do it alongside the 3,000 police officers now working on counter-terror and we need to do it with international partners.

“This is no longer something you can do behind closed doors and in secret.”

The paper – called Contest Two – will update the Contest strategy developed by the Home Office in 2003, which was later detailed in the Countering International Terrorism document released in 2006.

Over the last six years the strategy has concentrated on preventing radicalisation of potential terror recruits to disrupting terrorist operations, reducing the UK’s vulnerability and ensuring Britain is ready for the consequences of any terror attack.

The updated strategy will increase the focus on challenging individuals and groups who undermine the UK’s “shared values” – even if they are not breaking the law.

Source

Jewish Organizations and Businesses On Heightened Alert

Several sources are reporting a heightened risk of terror attacks on Jewish organizations, Jewish houses of worship, and Jewish businesses worldwide.

From The Institute of Terrorism Research and Response

To re-affirm the continuing threat to Jewish organizations, Jewish houses of worship, and Jewish businesses. Threat was confirmed by an attack in France 6January2009.

Threat Classification: Read more

Heightened Awareness Recommended For Railways Operating Along The US-Mexico Borde

GlobalIncidentMap.com Recommends Heightened Awareness For Railways Operating Along The US-Mexico Border

“Based on information from trusted Law Enforcement sources, we are recommending a heightened state of awareness for all railway operations along the USA-Mexico border, based on recent threats and observed activity”

No news links or additional information is available at this time.

via Global Incident Map.