WASHINGTON — U.S. officials searched travel databases, combed airline manifests and tightened security Friday in a search for what could be a handful of al-Qaeda operatives suspected of plotting a terrorist attack on Washington or New York.
The day after the government revealed a possible plot to detonate a vehicle-borne bomb around Sunday’s 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, investigators and the public reacted with caution and concern. New York City police set up vehicle checkpoints and posted rifle-carrying officers at train stations, while in Washington, “suspicious activity” calls to authorities jumped about 25 percent.
Two U.S. officials briefed on the threat said it is based on intelligence the CIA collected from a source in Afghanistan who has previously provided reliable information. The source contended that a handful of individuals, one of whom could be a U.S. citizen, might have entered the United States in recent days as part of the plot.
That prompted a flurry of activity Friday, as officials from the FBI, the National Counterterrorism Center and other agencies searched manifests and databases for any clues of who the suspected operatives are and where they might have traveled.
“We’re looking at travel records, times, dates that people may have traveled, passenger lists, itineraries,” said a U.S. counterterrorism official who, like other officials, spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation was not public.
Yet it remained unclear how serious the danger might be. Vice President Joe Biden, in TV interviews Friday morning, said there was “no certitude” that any plotters had arrived in the U.S.
Officials cautioned that although the information is considered credible, it is also raw intelligence that had not been corroborated elsewhere. They characterized the search for the suspected operatives, whose names were apparently unknown and whose descriptions were vague, as a broad sweep with few specific clues.
“We only have one source,” New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg told Fox Business Network. “I don’t mean to make light of it because we’ve ramped up our security. . . . If you ask my best guess, we will go through this weekend and Monday start a new era.”
Added one federal law enforcement official briefed on the threat: “If they had more information, you’d see them knocking down doors and arresting people.”
Others emphasized that Americans should not allow fear of an attack to alter their daily lives.
“We are determined not to let the specter of terrorism darken the national character that has always been America’s asset,” Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in a policy speech marking the anniversary.
The new intelligence came as security was already being increased nationwide, particularly in New York, where President Barack Obama and former President George W. Bush are scheduled to mark the anniversary Sunday at ground zero. The White House said Friday that Obama has no plans to change his scheduled trips to ground zero, the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pa., to honor the Sept. 11 victims.
In Denver, Dave Joly, spokesman for the FBI’s field office, said there had been no credible threats to Colorado and that “nothing has changed.”
Local, state and federal law enforcement have activated an around-the-clock command post in Denver, where they are actively collecting and disseminating intelligence, Joly said.
The Denver Post contributed to this report.
