Assignment 3

IS290-1 News Media

5 articles and links

Subject: Terrorist Threat Alert by FBI

Terrorism alert script: 1. information/evidence gathered

2. target/terrorists/action determined

3. information/ evidence verified

4. target/terrorists/action named in alert to media

5. media reports information in alert, possible additional information to inform

(terrorism-script $alert

‘((ptrans (Actor ?Person) (Object ?evidence) (to ?gather))

(mtrans (Actor ?Person) (Object (determine (target)

(terrorists)

(action))

(mtrans (Actor ?Person) (Object (verify) (target)

(terrorists)

(action))

((verify) (Actor) (Object ?target) (object ?terrorists) (object ?action))))

(atrans (Actor ?Person) (Object (alert) (?media)

(to ?evidence)

(to ?warning))

(ptrans (Actor ?media) (Object ?alert) (to?warn)

(Object ?additional information) (to?inform))))

ARTICLE 1

Date: February 12, 2002

Location: WASHINGTON

Action: issued … terrorist alert

Terrorist: Fawaz Yahya al-Rabeei; a dozen associates of al-Rabeei

Target: the United States or against U.S. interests; not specific about possible targets

Evidence: after information emerged; recent information from interviews of detainees in Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where several al-Qaida operatives are being held

Other Information or Viewpoints: local law enforcement officials have complained they learned from news media about the warnings before they saw the alerts over the FBI communications system; F

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/12/national/11WIRE-FBI.html?pagewanted=print

February 12, 2002

F.B.I. Issues New Terror Alert About Yemeni Man

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON -- The FBI issued an extraordinary terrorist alert Monday night, asking law enforcement and the American public to be on the lookout for a Yemeni man and several associates who might be plotting a terrorist attack as early as Tuesday.

The FBI scrambled to put the warning out after information emerged that one or more people were involved. Officials said the intelligence, while deemed credible, was not specific about possible targets.

The alert identified one possible attacker as Fawaz Yahya al-Rabeei, a Yemeni national born in Saudia Arabia in 1979. It listed about a dozen associates of al-Rabeei.

The bureau planned to put photos and information on a Web site to help Americans identify the possible perpetrators.

"Recent information indicates a planned attack may occurred in the United States or against U.S. interests on or around Feb. 12, 2002. One or more operatives may be involved in the attack," the alert to 18,000 law enforcement agencies said.

The alert asked police "to stop and detain" any of the named individuals in alert and that all "should be considered extremely dangerous."

Law enforcement officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the alert was prompted by recent information from interviews of detainees in Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where several al-Qaida operatives are being held.

Law enforcement officials said there was no evidence that al-Rabeei had entered the United States. The alert did not say whether the attack was planned or involved Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network.

Before Monday, FBI and Homeland Security officials had issued three general alerts urging all Americans to be cautious and on the lookout for possible terrorist activities.

The last was issued Dec. 3 and was supposed to last through the holidays. It has since been extended through the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and is supposed to expire around March 11.

In addition, the FBI has issued numerous narrower alerts to specific industries when uncorroborated information about threats to their facilities emerges. In the last month, such alerts went to nuclear power plant operators and to operators of Internet sites cautioning about possible threats.

On some occasions, local law enforcement officials have complained they learned from news media about the warnings before they saw the alerts over the FBI communications system.

Monday's warning was carefully organized to ensure that police, news media and the public learned about them at the same time, officials said.

ARTICLE 2

Date: February 12, 2002

Location: the United States or against U.S. targets in Yemen

Action: FBI issue … most specific terrorist alert ; identified one possible attacker as Fawaz Yahya Al-RabeeiTerrorist: Fawaz Yahya al-Rabeei; as many as 16 others from Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Tunisia

Target: No specific targets or methods of attack were known

Evidence: after information emerged; recent information from interviews of detainees in Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where several al-Qaida operatives are being held;

Other Information: one administration official characterized the information as uncorroborated; Many local police chiefs and some U.S. lawmakers have questioned the benefits of the various alerts; Ashcroft has defended the alerts, arguing that the threat from al Qaeda-trained terrorists is so broad and their activities so clandestine that U.S. officials must err on the side of caution

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A60116-2002Feb11.html

FBI Warns Of Attack Possible For Today
Yemeni Man, Up to 16 Others Cited in Alert

By Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, February 12, 2002; Page A01

The FBI rushed last night to issue its most specific terrorist alert since Sept. 11, warning that a Yemeni man and more than a dozen associates may be planning attacks in the United States or against U.S. targets in Yemen as early as today.

Authorities identified one possible attacker as Fawaz Yahya Al-Rabeei, a Yemeni national believed to have been born in Saudi Arabia in 1979. The alert said that Al-Rabeei and as many as 16 others from Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Tunisia may be plotting a terrorist assault.

No specific targets or methods of attack were known, but the report was deemed credible and came from interviews with al Qaeda prisoners in Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, officials said. None of the men named in the alert were known to have entered the United States, one FBI official said.

The warning marks the fourth publicized alert since the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon that killed more than 3,100 people, and it was notably more specific than the previous three.

But the relative importance of the alert was difficult to gauge last night, as various Bush administration officials offered differing characterizations of the information underlying the warning.

FBI officials, saying they were alarmed by the specificity of information they had uncovered and worried about the ongoing Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, took the unusual step of publicizing the threat alert on their Web site instead of limiting its distribution to 18,000 law enforcement agencies.

"Given the timing and urgency of the information that was coming together, we thought it was important to do something immediately," one FBI official said.

But one administration official characterized the information as uncorroborated and compared it to a less publicized alert about a terrorist threat in Texas in December.

Susan K. Neely, a spokeswoman for Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge, said last night that Ridge was briefed on the warning but that it was viewed strictly as an FBI advisory.

"It's a directive to law enforcement officials, but it's not based on the same volume of threat information that was used in the past" national alerts, Neely said. "Clearly it's a heads-up for law enforcement to be on the lookout for individuals, based on uncorroborated information from detainees."

According to the alert, "recent information indicates a planned attack may occur in the United States or against U.S. interests in the country of Yemen on or around 2-12-02. One or more operatives may be involved in the attack."

The FBI asked local and state police to "stop and detain" any of the 17 people named in the alert and said that all of them "should be considered extremely dangerous." The alert came "as a result of U.S. military operations in Afghanistan and ongoing interviews of detainees in Guantanamo Bay," according to the FBI.

Al Qaeda operatives from Yemen and Saudi Arabia have figured prominently in recent suicide attacks. Most of the Sept. 11 hijackers hailed from Saudi Arabia, and 17 U.S. sailors were killed in October 2000 when the USS Cole was bombed in the Yemeni port of Aden. Ridge issued the last general terrorism alert on Dec. 3, and it was slated to last through the holiday season. That alert was later extended through March 11, in part to encompass large public events such as the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics.

Smaller alerts targeted at specific industries or locations have been issued more quietly by the FBI since the Sept. 11 attacks, most of them based on information of uncertain reliability and focused on nuclear facilities, bridges or Internet sites.

Many local police chiefs and some U.S. lawmakers have questioned the benefits of the various alerts issued by Ridge, FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III and Attorney General John D. Ashcroft.

Ridge's office has been working closely with other federal agencies, governors and state and local law enforcement officials to try to devise a new national alert system that makes better use of intelligence in rating the seriousness of the terrorist threat. Ridge said during a luncheon with Washington Post editors and reporters yesterday that he expects an agreement on a new approach within the next several weeks but acknowledged that the negotiations have been difficult.

Ashcroft has defended the alerts, arguing that the threat from al Qaeda-trained terrorists is so broad and their activities so clandestine that U.S. officials must err on the side of caution. Ashcroft recently noted the arrest of Richard C. Reid for allegedly trying to ignite his explosives-laden sneakers Dec. 22 on a transatlantic flight as an example.

Ashcroft may address the latest alert at a morning news conference in Austin, where he is scheduled to discuss other issues, one Justice official said.

In issuing its alert last night, the FBI also released photographs of most of the men named in the warning. Officials said the suspected ringleader, Al-Rabeei, uses numerous aliases, including Furqan the Chechen, and may be traveling with a Yemeni passport.

Staff writer Eric Pianin contributed to this report.

ARTICLE 3

Date: February 12, 2002

Location: Washington; San Antonio, Texas; Sacramento (implied, “the Governor’s office”); Yemen; Los Angeles

Action: detainee recently flown to Guantanamo Bay from Afghanistan told American investigators about someone in Afghanistan whose brother mentioned "an imminent attack on the 12^th; the directive was triggered by information gathered in Al Qaeda interrogations strongly suggests that he may be associated with Osama bin Laden's terrorist network.

Target: in the United States or against U.S. interests in Yemen

Evidence: information gathered both at the Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba, where U.S. authorities have been interviewing detained Al Qaeda operatives, and in Afghanistan, where the U.S. military has been sifting through material left in the rubble by Al Qaeda forces

Other Information: authorities are still seeking to corroborate the intelligence pointing to the prospect of a an attack today

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-021202terror.story

FBI Issues Urgent Attack Alert

By ERIC LICHTBLAU and BOB DROGIN
Times Staff Writers

February 12 2002, 10:39 AM PST

WASHINGTON -- The FBI warned Monday night that a suspected terrorist from Yemen and as many as 16 associates could be planning an attack against Americans as early as today.

The FBI identified the main suspect as Fawaz Yahya Al-Rabeei, a Yemeni national born in Saudi Arabia in 1979.

The alert said that an attack could occur in the United States or against U.S. interests in Yemen. It was the most specific of the four nationwide alerts that the FBI has issued since Sept. 11, following earlier warnings that some condemned as vague and alarmist.

"The credibility of the threat on this one appears a little stronger than the previous alerts," said a law enforcement official who requested anonymity. "But we don't have information on any specific targets."

Attorney General John Ashcroft, speaking in San Antonio, Texas, urged citizens and law enforcement officers across the country to "be on the highest alert."

Ashcroft described the men as "individuals who may be associated with Osama bin Laden and the Al Qaeda network."

The alert was triggered by information gathered both at the Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba, where U.S. authorities have been interviewing detained Al Qaeda operatives, and in Afghanistan, where the U.S. military has been sifting through material left in the rubble by Al Qaeda forces, law enforcement officials said.

A detainee recently flown to Guantanamo Bay from Afghanistan told American investigators about someone in Afghanistan whose brother mentioned "an imminent attack on the 12th," said a U.S. official who asked not to be identified.

The warning was issued on the fourth day of the Winter Olympics, which are taking place in Salt Lake City amid extraordinarily tight security measures.

The alert, issued to 18,000 law enforcement agencies and the public at large, read: "Recent information indicates a planned attack may occur in the United States or against U.S. interests in the country of Yemen on or around 02/12/02. One or more operatives may be involved in the attack." It is posted on the FBI Web site, www.fbi.gov.

Al-Rabeei's whereabouts are unknown, and law enforcement officials said he is not believed to have shown up on any of the watch lists that the FBI and other agencies have been using to track suspected terrorists since Sept. 11.

A spokesman for California Gov. Gray Davis said the governor's office passed the warning on to California law enforcement officials Monday.

"In the wake of this latest FBI alert, California law enforcement officials continue to be on high alert. Since receiving notice from the FBI, we have notified all California law enforcement of the threat with names of suspects via the California Anti-Terrorism network," said Steven Maviglio, the governor's press secretary.

"No other actions are being taken at this time."

At the center of the FBI alert is Al-Rabeei, who may also use the name Furqan or numerous other aliases. He and as many as 16 associates are considered "extremely dangerous," the FBI said. The agency urged local police to be on the lookout for any members of the group.

The FBI posted photos of 13 of the suspects on its Web site. The photos appear to be standard passport photos; all but three of the 17 suspects are believed to carry Yemeni passports.

Information Gathering Suggests Al Qaeda Link

The FBI's warning drew no direct link between Al-Rabeei and Al Qaeda, but the fact that the directive was triggered by information gathered in Al Qaeda interrogations strongly suggests that he may be associated with Osama bin Laden's terrorist network.

"We don't know if the target is in the United States or against U.S. interests or somewhere else," said the U.S. official. "We think Yemen is a possibility, but it's really not clear."

The FBI has been probing Yemen terrorist connections more aggressively in recent weeks, and President Bush spoke by phone Monday with Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh to review progress in the U.S.-led war on terrorism. It was not clear whether the two leaders also discussed the tip that led to the FBI warning.

Ari Fleischer, the White House press secretary, said early Monday that Bush "expressed appreciation for the Saleh government's recent efforts to deny terrorists use of Yemeni territory. The two agreed on the need for a sustained effort and continued cooperation in the fight against the terrorists."

Fleischer said the president had not altered his public schedule. Vice President Dick Cheney, who has gone to secure, undisclosed locations during times of high alert, was working at the White House today, Fleischer said.

Bush's call followed a visit Monday to Yemen by Gen. Tommy Franks, head of the U.S. Central Command, which is running the war in Afghanistan. Franks told reporters there that the Bush administration does not expect to deploy combat troops in Yemen but will help the government by providing training and other assistance.

A team of Yemeni investigators flew to Guantanamo Bay last week to help interrogate 21 Yemenis who have been detained for their suspected links to Al Qaeda or other terrorist groups.

The Yemeni team includes investigators who are working on the still-unsolved attack on the U.S. Navy destroyer Cole by a squad of suicide bombers in October 2000 in the harbor of Aden. The attack killed 17 U.S. sailors.

At the State Department, an official said today the U.S. embassy in Yemen has been at a very high state of alert for some time. It is standard procedure, he added, for the embassy to review the security situation when there are new developments.

He said no U.S. diplomatic missions anywhere are closed because of security concerns. He added that there have been no authorized departures from diplomatic missions for nonessential personnel.

Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge said today the fact that overseas interrogations led to the government's ability to identify specific suspects and time frames for the first time shows the success of the war on terrorism. "If we can interdict those who would do us harm and bring havoc and war and destruction and death to this country before they cross our borders ... that's the best homeland security," Ridge told the presidents of historically black colleges and universities.

The U.S. blames Al Qaeda for that bombing and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Yemen's government also has launched a series of armed raids in recent weeks in an attempt to capture two senior Al Qaeda operatives, including one man wanted for the Cole attack. In one clash, 18 soldiers and six local villagers were slain.

The FBI, which drew criticism from some police for putting out past alerts to the public before sharing them with law enforcement officials, made a point of sending Monday's warning to law enforcement agencies several hours before it went public.

Authorities Try to Corroborate Threat

While authorities are still seeking to corroborate the intelligence pointing to the prospect of a an attack today, "we wanted to get as much information out as quickly as we could," an official said.

Spokesmen for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and the Los Angeles Police Department said their officers have been on heightened alert since Sept. 11 and that no extra measures would be taken as a result of the new warning because it was too general.

"We haven't done anything because there's nothing the FBI is giving us that is specific enough to tell us where this is going to occur," said Sheriff's Deputy Ron Bottomley. "Our officers are always on alert since 9/11."

_ _ _

Times staff writers Bettina Boxall and Elena Gaona in Los Angeles and Associated Press contributed to this story.

ARTICLE 4

Date: February 12, 2002

Location: Washington; across America

Action: The FBI has warned of a possible imminent terrorist attack; identified one possible attacker as Fawaz Yahya al-Rabeei

Target: in the United States or against Americans in Yemen.

Evidence: after interviews with detainees in Afghanistan and Cuba, where some al-Qaeda members are being held

Other Information:

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/printFriendly/0,,1-1-206368,00.html

February 12, 2002

The Times

Most wanted: FBI raises terror alarm

by ap in washington

Fawaz Yahya al-Rabeei, a Yemeni national born in Saudia Arabi.

The FBI has warned of a possible imminent terrorist attack in the United States or against Americans in Yemen.

It identified one possible attacker as Fawaz Yahya al-Rabeei, a light-skinned, 22-year-old from Yemen with Western-looking features and several other suspected accomplices from Saudi Arabia and Yemen. All are described as "highly dangerous".

Although the warning came on the fourth night of the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, officials said there was no intelligence suggesting that the games were a possible target. Instead, they urged that all locations in the United States and abroad with Americans to be on guard.

Police across America were under orders to detain any of the suspects immediately. The FBI does not know whether al-Rabeeni is in the United States or even if he is still alive, but it has published photographs of him and the suspects on its website.

The FBI was not specific about possible targets, but it considered the information "credible" and released the information out of caution because the date of the threatened attack was so close. It was the fourth alert it has issued.

It came on Monday night after interviews with detainees in Afghanistan and Cuba, where some al-Qaeda members are being held.

ARTICLE 5

Date: February 12, 2002

Location: New York; Afghanistan

Action: The FBI has issued a warning to all law-enforcement agencies and the American public; Yemeni man and several of his associates may be plotting a terrorist attack ; FBI identified one possible terrorist as 23-year old Fawaz Wahya al-Rabeei

Target: on US targets

Evidence: Recent information indicates; was based on information obtained in Afghanistan and from detainees at the US Navy base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where several Al-Qaida and Taliban soldiers are being held

Other Information:

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20020213/main5.htm

FBI issues new terror warning
Dharam Shourie

New York, February 12
The FBI has issued a warning to all law-enforcement agencies and the American public that a Yemeni man and several of his associates may be plotting a terrorist attack on US targets as early as today.

Alerting about the possibility of an attack, the Federal Bureau of Investigation last night said the warning was based on information obtained in Afghanistan and from detainees at the US Navy base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where several Al-Qaida and Taliban soldiers are being held.

“As a result of US military operations in Afghanistan and ongoing interviews of detainees in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, information has been available regarding threats to US interests,” the FBI said.

“Recent information indicates a planned attack may occur in the USA or against US interests in the country of Yemen on or around February 12, 2002. One or more operatives may be involved in the attack,” said the alert.

The FBI identified one possible terrorist as 23-year old Fawaz Wahya al-Rabeei, a Yemeni national who was born in Saudi Arabia and said he might have a dozen associates. PTI