The FBI has openly telegraphed its concerns about the July 4th threat. The bureau’s latest alert: a July 2 warning to state and local law enforcement around the country noting that, while there’s no “specific information regarding possible attacks,” there has been a marked uptick in “intelligence and threat reporting” indicating that a “terrorist incident could possibly occur over the July 4th holiday period.” But they’ve been more circumspect about just how the new pre-emptive efforts will work. FBI agents will be a furtive presence at major Independence Day celebrations across the country hoping to detect suspicious activity. Some plainclothes agents, for example, will be moving through the crowds of revelers with portable radiation-detection devices looking for telltale signs of weapons of mass destruction. It’s a “needle in the haystack” approach, says one counterterrorism official. A more targeted program to disrupt potential plots will be taking place this week. NEWSWEEK has learned that FBI agents around the country have been directed to interview hundreds of individuals who are currently the subject of counterterrorism investigations. Many of them are Middle Eastern men identified as potential terrorist suspects by the FBI’s “Al Qaeda Telephone Analysis Unit,” a special team set up to establish links between known Al Qaeda operatives and people with whom they come into contact. The purpose of these interviews is to “disrupt and/or neutralize” any terror plots. But in a few especially sensitive cases, agents will not confront suspects for fear of compromising assets or operations. “The idea is to spook and scatter any Al Qaeda guys who may be planning something,” says one law enforcement official. “It’s prevention in its purest form.”
As part of its Fourth of July prevention program, the FBI is also reaching out to the Arab-American community. Special agents-in-charge of the bureau’s field offices have sent out letters to Arab-American and Muslim groups reminding them that the FBI takes seriously its responsibility to investigate hate crimes. That’s followed up with a request for assistance in identifying possible terrorists and potential plots.
“If you believe you possess information that could be important, not only to the investigation regarding the attacks of September 11, but for the broader and ongoing effort to protect America from future attacks, now is the time to come forward,” the letters says, according to a source who read it to NEWSWEEK. The FBI wants to know about people who have “demonstrated or articulated sympathy for or support for Osama Bin Laden, Al Qaeda, or any other terrorist organization or person advocating Jihad against the United States. Equally of interest, anyone who has expressed an unusual interest in learning about chemical plants, military facilities, dams, bridges or other possible targets.”
Most of the terrorism threats the FBI has received in recent weeks have been vague and have not been corroborated. But one recent alert prompted some very specific action. Sources tell NEWSWEEK that counterterrorism officials at the FBI learned last month that “international terrorist groups” may be targeting a major American or European sports stadiums. The sources say the suspected terrorists gathered information from a Web site called “www.worldstadiums.com” and downloaded images of the Edward Jones Dome, where the St. Louis Rams play, and the RCA Dome, home of the Indianapolis Colts. Late last month, the FBI warned officials at major stadiums around the country about the potential threat while re-emphasizing that they had no specific evidence of a planned attack.
