Terror Threat Highest Since 9/11

Bear in mind we are in the midst of the 9/11 commission fall out and the Senate investigation report on intelligence.

The question is then, will anyone heed the warnings? Is it going to take another 9/11 for the country to unite again against terrorism?

From Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The terrorist threat against the United States in the run-up to the November election is as serious as at any time since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, acting CIA Director John McLaughlin said on Tuesday.

"This is about as serious a threat environment as I have seen since 9/11," said McLaughlin, the deputy director who took over on Sunday pending appointment of a permanent successor to Director George Tenet who resigned amid criticism of the agency's performance.

"The quality of the information we have now is such that we have high confidence that the nation needs to be on guard," McLaughlin told Reuters in a telephone interview.

He said the threats were not pinned specifically to the Democratic and Republican political conventions this summer but to the whole period before the November presidential election.

And Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge issued similar warnings.

"Credible reporting now indicates that al Qaeda is moving forward with its plans to carry out a large-scale attack in the United States in an effort to disrupt our democratic process," Ridge said.
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