Early Warning Signs
cnn.com
Suspected terrorists mirror hijackers' actions
October 6, 2001 Posted: 9:11 AM EDT (1311 GMT)
From John King
CNN Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Known and suspected members of terrorist cells have been monitored in recent days in activities that mirror those taken by the suspected hijackers and their associates in the days preceding the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, two senior US law enforcement sources told CNN Friday.
The sources stressed there was no evidence of "a specific threat" but, in the words of one, the intelligence information "adds to the sense of unease" among law enforcement and other government officials.
"There are people we are watching who are talking the same language -- things like 'you will be happy soon' -- and other things reminiscent of pre-9-11 activities," one of the sources said. "People talking the same language, circles of calls, things that are just very similar."
The second official said the suspicious activities included travel in and out of Afghanistan, and that the monitored conversations and other activities that have raised concerns "are much more overseas than here" in the United States.
"People taking a trip, people not showing up for work, things that match the string we have put together as we recreate the events on and just before 9-11."
"We have pieced together a pretty good picture of the activities of the days just before September 11, and there are just things that are similar that have people on a heightened sense of alert," the second source said. "It is nothing really hard, but it is eerie in some ways and adds to the sense of unease."
The first source said the intelligence comes from "signal sources, and informants and other means" and is part of the "aggressive" effort by the United States and other governments to track members of suspected terrorist cells in the wake of the attacks.
"And we know they know we are out there, and so it is hard to get a good sense of what is real sometimes," this source said. "But people are a little nervous."
As CNN has previously reported, law enforcement and intelligence officials believe the risk of another terrorist attack in the United States remains high, and that would be a high probability in the event of U.S. military action as part of the campaign against terrorism.
"The consensus is something would happen, another round, but there is nothing concrete on targets or methods or means," the first law enforcement source said.
"There are a virtually infinite number of possibilities and only a finite number of solutions," this source said. "So we have to prioritize our level of activity and preparedness."
Both sources said airport security remained a paramount concern. And they said there were intensive discussions under way about providing security for the United Nations General Assembly session in New York in mid-November.
"As many as 80 to 120 heads of state in a city already on edge," was how one official described it. |
