According to Attorney General John Ashcroft, Al Qaeda is close to launching a major attack, these seven individuals may be involved. The AP reports that a steady stream of "disturbing" intelligence indicates terrorists already are already in the United States and ready to execute the plan, though Mr. Ashcroft acknowledged there is no information indicating when, where or how an attack might happen.

In today's news conference, Mr. Ashcroft declared, "We do believe that al-Qaida plans to attack the United States, and that is a result of intelligence that is corroborated at a variety of levels."

The AP reports:

"Six of the al-Qaida operatives, including two Canadian citizens, whose photos and backgrounds were highlighted Wednesday have been the subject of FBI pursuit for months. The seventh, Adam Yahiye Gadahn, 25, is a U.S. citizen who grew up on a California goat farm and converted to Islam as a teenager. He was described by Mueller as having attended al-Qaida training camps in Afghanistan (news - web sites) and served as an al-Qaida translator. "

"Each of the suspects, Ashcroft said, presents 'a clear and present danger' to the United States because of their language skills, familiarity with U.S. culture and ability to travel under multiple aliases and use forged documents."

Of course, the AP notes the obligatory of Democrat complaints: if this is such a big deal, why haven't they raised the threat level, and the Bush administration is "needlessly scaring people."

"Needlessly scaring people"! They are doing their job, warning people about the danger before it is too late to stop it. Awareness, even some fear, will keep us alert and watchful.

Kerry's response was typically nonresponsive. According to AP, he "questioned the Bush administration's commitment to providing the resources necessary to protect the country, citing gaps in chemical and nuclear plant safety and inadequate protection for U.S. ports."

I love the way the AP skips critical information to save room to quote the virulently anti-Bush crowd.

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry is