al-Qaida Said Almost Ready to Attack U.S.

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Wednesday, May 26, 2004

(3:34 PM ET)

By Curt Anderson

Associated Press Writer

``There's not a consensus within the administration that we need to raise the threat level. [...] We do not need to raise the threat level to increase security. Right now, there's no need to put the entire country on an elevated national alert.''

A poster of individuals sought in connection with possible terrorist threats against the United States is seen before a news conference by FBI Director Robert Mueller and Attorney General John Ashcroft at FBI Headquarters Wednesday, May 26, 2004 in Washington.

Image Credit: Charles Dharapak -- AP

WASHINGTON -- AP
Al-Qaida is determined to launch a U.S. attack in the next few months that could be linked to a major event such as the upcoming international economic summit or the summer political conventions, Attorney General John Ashcroft said Wednesday, citing ``credible intelligence from multiple sources.''

Ashcroft noted that following the March 11 train bombings in Madrid an al-Qaida spokesman said the terrorist organization's plans for an attack on America were 90 percent complete. That, coupled with a steady stream of intelligence about al-Qaida gathered before and after the Spain bombings, ``suggest that it's almost ready to attack the United States,'' he said at a Justice Department news conference with FBI Director Robert Mueller.

The intelligence does not contain specifics such as timing, method or place of an attack. But officials say it is backed with greater corroboration than usual, including information that operatives may already be in the United States.

However, there are no immediate plans to increase in the U.S. terror alert.

Ashcroft and Mueller asked state and local law enforcement and the public for help tracking down seven people thought to be connected to al-Qaida. ``All present a clear and present danger to America. All should be considered armed and dangerous,'' Ashcroft said.

The ominous warning returns the nation's attention to terrorism, the issue that President Bush has highlighted as a central theme of his re-election campaign, after intense focus on other subjects like prisoner abuses in Iraq. Bush has lost ground in the polls, falling in approval ratings to the lowest point of his presidency.

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2004 © The Associated Press.

Dan