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U.S. upgrades alert status

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

Washington Feb. 7. The Bush administration has sounded a nationwide `orange' alert after intelligence warning about a ``high risk'' of terrorist attacks. The Attorney General, John Ashcroft, and the Secretary of the Homeland Security Department, Tom Ridge, will be making an announcement later.

Earlier this morning the President, George W. Bush approved of this terror alert status (orange is the second highest alert in a colour coded system) in a meeting; but he did not wish to discuss the issue after the swearing-in session of the new Treasury Secretary, John Snow. The security alert for the country has remained at yellow for sometime now.

For about two weeks last September the risk status was pushed to ``high risk'' or to Code Orange at the time of the First Anniversary Observance of the terror attacks of September 11, 2001. Senior officials of the Bush administration have not discussed the specifics of why the country was being put at an elevated scale of risk. But the point made is that intelligence officials have reason to fear attacks — based on ``chatter'', or terrorist activity.

One unnamed intelligence official has been quoted in an agency report as saying that this ``chatter'' was rivalling what was seen prior to the terror attacks of September 11, 2001. There has also been corroboration in intelligence, pointing to threats and attacks on Americans.

The reasons are varied, especially in the post 9/11 and in American military operations against the Al Qaeda and the Taliban.

But in the immediate context U.S. domestic and foreign intelligence agencies are keeping a lookout in the backdrop of a looming war with Iraq. Further the start of the Haj generally places intelligence agencies on a higher state of alert here.

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