Division follows terrorism warning
WASHINGTON -- FBI and Justice Department officials yesterday defended their decision to warn the public about the potential for a devastating terrorist attack on America this summer, saying it was justified by intelligence and essential to avoid missteps that occurred before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Their defense followed criticism from lawmakers and some Bush administration officials with access to the same intelligence. They said Wednesday's announcement by Attorney General John D. Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III was overblown and caused unnecessary public concern.
Representative Christopher Cox, Republican of California and chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, said the Ashcroft-Mueller news conference mistakenly led some to believe the nation's threat level had been increased. He called it ''regrettable" that Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge did not join Ashcroft and Mueller.
''Their separate public appearances left the impression that the broad and close interagency consultation we expect -- and which the law requires -- may not have taken place in this case," Cox said.
A Homeland Security Department spokesman, Brian Roehrkasse, reiterated yesterday that his agency has not seen any change in the ''steady stream of threat reporting."
''We do not have any new intelligence or specific information about Al Qaeda planning an attack," he said.
Cassandra Chandler, assistant FBI director for public affairs, acknowledged that intelligence about the threat has been coming in for some time. However, she said it now is being backed by a higher degree of corroboration.
She said the announcement was intended to demonstrate to Americans and the world that the FBI is focused on trying to thwart an attack. ''This clearly demonstrates our commitment to prevention," Chandler said.
Publicity about the threat and the accompanying plea for the public's help in apprehending seven people accused of being Al Qaeda members are in contrast to the FBI's actions in the summer of 2001, when intelligence officials warned President Bush of threats in an Aug. 6 memo called ''Bin Laden determined to strike in US."
New publicity about the seven being sought -- six of whom have been pursued by the FBI for months -- had generated more than 2,000 tips to an FBI website since Wednesday afternoon. It normally receives 200 terrorism-related leads every day.
