C.I.A. Sends Terror Experts to Tell Small Towns of Risk

[Rose Siding]

WASHINGTON, July 17 - The Central Intelligence Agency has begun a series of terrorism briefings for state and local law enforcement personnel, for the first time dispatching counterterrorism experts to cities and small towns to warn of the possibility of an attack by Al Qaeda this year, government officials said this week.

The C.I.A. briefings, which are being coordinated by the F.B.I., are conducted by intelligence analysts from the agency's Directorate of Intelligence. They have visited small cities and towns across the country, the officials said, with more meetings planned.

Many of the briefers are analysts from the C.I.A.'s Counterterrorism Center at the agency's headquarters at Langley, Va., which sifts through thousands of pieces of information to track terrorists worldwide. Sometimes they have been joined by the C.I.A.'s officers who work in several large cities in the United States, one intelligence official said.

The center started the briefings in recent weeks to advise local authorities about the terror threat as part of an effort "to put some context and flavor into the current threat environment," which government officials have described as the most serious since the months before the Sept. 11 attacks, the intelligence official said.
...
Chief Kehl said the meeting provided him with a fresh perspective about the threat, the capabilities of Al Qaeda and the insistent reports that Al Qaeda hopes to carry out a terror attack in the United States sometime this year. "There's so much concentration on large cities that there is always the possibility of being targeted in a smaller area," he said, even as he gauged the possibility of an attack in Fishers as low.

http://nytimes.com/2004/07/18/politics/18cia.html

[soothsayer]

1. real preparedness, or scare tactics?

I'm not sure.

[Rose Siding]

2. Wouldn't preparedness have begun a couple of years ago?

I think this is pre-election scare tactics, especially if it gets any coverage in the locals.

[struggle4progress]

3. After the CIA's success analyzing the Iraqi WMD threat ...

... who could complain when agency analysts leave their desks to share their newest intelligence theories with small town America?

No matter how low the possibility of an attack in Fishers might be, it surely must be more important to send the analysts on an Indiana roadtrip to remind us all about vague chatter, than to ask those same analysts to sit down and analyze still more raw data.

Hmmmmm ...

[Media_Lies_Daily]

5. What is it that you and others are NOT understanding ....

...about the CIA's analysis of the LACK OF EVIDENCE in regards to the alleged Iraqi WMDs???

How many times have posters made comments like your comment DESPITE the fact that the CIA's CLASSIFIED version of the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) clearly stated that hard evidence about Iraqi WMDs could NOT be found??

How many times has it been stated that the UNCLASSIFIED version of the NIE had been REWRITTEN by person or persons unknown to STRONGLY indicate that WMDs had been found in Iraq?? The NeoCon, Pentagon-based OSP is strongly suspected to have been the group that rewrote the original classified NIE.

How many times has it been stated on this board that Tenet and the CIA advised FratBoy NOT to use those infamous "sixteen words" about Iraqi WMDs in his State of the Union address??

How many times has it been stated on this board that Tenet and the CIA advised Powell NOT to discuss Iraqi WMDs in his speech to the UN??

And finally, how many times has Woodward's quote been challenged of Tenet claiming at Crawford that the existence of Iraqi WMDs was a "slam dunk"?? Who gave Woodward that quote, and what were their vested interests in terms of blaming the Iraqi WMD fiasco on the CIA??

[struggle4progress]

17. Do we hire CIA analysts ...

... to analyze data or to wander the backwoods hyping minor threats?

Yes, the CIA is getting something of a bum rap ... but it looks to me like it's partly their own fault and that Agency clearly DID partially cave under Administration pressure.

<edit: reworked>

[truthisfreedom]

4. look at the timing.

be suspicious. always.

[wordout]

6. "context and flavor"

No doubt revealing to them chain of command and whose boots to lick when Martial Law is effected. And who to arrest.

:nuke:

[havocmom]

7. DC doesn't give a damn for the safety of smaller communities

or they wouldn't be pulling such a high percentage of emergency responders to active duty in the guard! Guard and reservist callups have left gaping holes in personnel rosters of local law enforcement, fire and medical services in too many small towns in America.

Yeah, we're safer than before! Sure we are, Lt. Bush, sure we are.

[Rex]

8. C.I.A. to Smalltown U.S.A.

Booogggaaa boooggga!!!! Be afraid, be VERY afraid (and don't vote this November).

[shraby]

9. Suppose the CIA is telling the

locals to "watch for pregnant women with wires hanging out"
"watch for people dressed in coats on a warm day"
"watch out for floating objects in rivers and lakes"

Sheesh!

[daleo]

21. Don't forget

People carrying copies of the Farmer's Almanac.

[Wright Patman]

18. Don't vote?

I think the idea is to maximize turnout in smalltown America.

That's Bush's base (well, aside from the "haves" and "have mores").

[Rex]

19. But the terrorists could be planting bombs in the voting booths!

Their mission is to make Smalltown to afraid to go out and vote.

[Aidoneus]

10. CIA sending so-called experts to terrorize small towns

If truth in advertizing (or something) laws were enforced, such would be the actual headline.

[Judi Lynn]

15. Absolutely! Nothing spreads faster than rumors of threats

All the folks in these small towns will be telling their friends and relatives in other places and they'll continue the echo effect indefinitely. Free _Bush scare advertising.

No one around to check the mushrooming cloud of wild speculation, fear running rampant, it's a gift from gawd to them.

[Mari333]

11. Oh sure..and everyone can turn in their neighbour

who has a Kerry sign in their yard..this is so transparent..
Just what we need in our small town..even more corrupt officials and police..believe me, they are already corrupt enough.

[5X]

12. You can bet my small town officials will see this as gospel

Here in rural oklahoma, the sheriffs will be drooling over the chance to bust some terrorists.

[Snoggera]

13. My worry has always been

being downwind of Los Alamos and Sandia Labs should an accident occur. Other than that, maybe the terrorists would like to rebuild the crumbling buildings here before blowing them up.

[colonel odis]

14. the point is to suppress voter turnout.

bush knows he's fixing to drop way behind in the polls, so he has to scare people into staying away from polls on nov. 2

[meow2u3]

16. Bush's strategy may well backfire on him

We know Bush is trying to suppress voter turnout. But to terrorize small towns, most of which vote Repuke--and are Bush loyalists--is an excellent idea. The more Bushies who stay home, the better for the country.

[colonel odis]

20. good point. he's discouraging his base to stay away, unless --

he knows he's dying in those areas, too.

if they do something as harebrained and transparent as issuing a terror alert the night before the election or cancelling/postponing the election, i hope they're prepared for the consequences. people won't stand for it. it will get very, very ugly.


on the other hand, there's a chance something else is brewing. they're making it so obvious that they're trying to suppress turnout. everyone is looking there. perhaps we should all be looking where they don't want us to.