White House antiterror meeting follows warning

11 July 2007 19:31  [Source: ICIS news]

WASHINGTON (ICIS news)--US officials said on Wednesday that a high-level security conference scheduled for tomorrow at the White House is a routine meeting, but it follows warnings by the US homeland security chief of an increased terror risk.

 

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a statement by Secretary Michael Chertoff saying “I believe we’re entering a period this summer of increased risk.”

 

The department has just begun enforcing new antiterrorism security regulations for US high-risk chemical production facilities that are seen as potential targets for terrorists seeking to cause mass casualties.

 

“We’ve seen a lot more public statements from Al Qaeda,” Chertoff said, explaining why he has a “gut feeling” of an increased risk of a terrorist attack in the US during the summer months.

 

There could be a number of reasons for the increased public threats from Al Qaeda, Chertoff said, “but one reason that occurs to me is that they’re feeling more comfortable and raising expectations”.

 

Chertoff also noted that terrorist attacks directed at western countries and interests have been more frequent during northern hemisphere summer months.  He cited earlier attacks in London and Madrid in the spring and summer of 2005 and the recently disrupted attacks in London and Glasgow.

 

“So we do worry about whether they [terrorists] are rebuilding their capabilities,” Chertoff said.

 

“All these things have given me kind of a gut feeling that we are in a period of increased vulnerability,” he added.

 

White House spokesman Tony Fratto said a security meeting will be held in the White House situation room on Thursday, but he emphasised that the conference is part of a routine series of antiterrorism sessions.  He declined to say who among top US security officials would be attending.

 

Both Fratto and Homeland Security Department spokesman William Knocke emphasised that “there continues to be no credible, specific intelligence to suggest that there is an imminent threat to the homeland at this time”.

 

The department has not raised the national threat alert, which remains at the "elevated" or yellow level.  The threat level for commercial aviation remains at "high" or orange, as it has been for many months.

By: Joe Kamalick
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