Precautions Raised for Preelection Terrorism

The U.S. intelligence community believes al Qaeda is intent on launching terrorist attacks in this country sometime before the November elections, a conclusion that yesterday prompted the Department of Homeland Security to announce that it is increasing precautions in a number of areas.

Al Qaeda's new game plan, officials said, is to show its clout by disrupting the upcoming U.S. elections or another large event scheduled in coming months. These include the dedication of Washington's new World War II memorial on the Mall, the Memorial Day and July 4 holidays, the Group of Eight meeting of industrialized nations in Georgia in June, the two parties' political conventions in Boston and New York, and the Olympics in Greece.

"We soon enter a season that is rich with symbolic opportunities for the terrorists to try to shake our will," Ridge said in a speech yesterday to the Radio-Television News Directors Association at the National Association of Broadcasters convention in Las Vegas. "With so many symbolic gatherings in the next few months, we must be aggressive."

May G-d protect us from the unevolved islamofascists.