Election threat by al-Qaida stressed

WASHINGTON — Al-Qaida operatives are "moving forward" with plans to mount an attack aimed at disrupting the November elections, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said Thursday.

Ridge said law enforcement officials around the country were tightening security in response to the threat but that his department would not raise the terror alert level, currently at yellow or "elevated."

There are two higher levels on the department's five-color alert system: orange, or "high," and red, or "severe."

Ridge said he lacks specific knowledge about the time, place or method of the expected attack but that the CIA, FBI and other intelligence agencies were "actively working" to obtain that information.

"We live in serious times, and this is sobering information about those who wish to do us harm," he told a news conference. "But every day — every day — we strengthen the security of our nation, and as a nation, we are committed to the absolute protection of our citizens."

Ridge said law enforcement officials were taking a number of concrete steps to prevent an attack, including:

• Monitoring rail shipments throughout the country.

• Deploying hundreds of hand-held radiological detectors to spot so-called "dirty" bombs.

• Watching chemical facilities.

Ridge also said federal officials were working closely with state and local authorities in New York City and Boston to tighten security around the Republican and Democratic national conventions.

He said al-Qaida believes that the group's attack in March in Madrid, Spain, altered the course of that country's national elections. The terrorist organization hopes to achieve similar results in this country by launching an attack this summer or fall, he said.

"Credible reporting now indicates that al-Qaida 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," he said.

The Democrats will meet at Boston's FleetCenter July 26-29, and the GOP convention will be at Madison Square Garden in New York from Aug. 30-Sept. 2.

Ridge denied that the Bush administration was trying to create a widespread sense of unease that might work to Bush's advantage less than four months before the election.

"It's a wrong interpretation," he said. "We are basically laying out before the general public the kind of information that we've received."

Earlier, Ridge and top FBI and CIA officials briefed House and Senate members about the terror attack threat.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., said the public should not "panic."

"What is clear is that law enforcement has generally been notified," he said. "There are enhanced activities on behalf of law enforcement around the country,"

Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., criticized the administration for failing to provide the public more details about the threat.

"The American public is mature and capable of dealing with the situation," she said.