ＥＥＥ会議（全米でテロ攻撃警戒警報、９．１１以後最高に）...................................................031222


あと２日でクリスマスだというのに、米国では「ここ数日以内に大規模テロ攻撃の危
険性がある」（本土安全保障省のRidge長官）として、警告のレベルを１段上にあげ
ました。２年前の９．１１テロ事件以来最も高いレベルとなり、その結果全米の空港
や港で、クリスマス休暇で移動中の市民の足が大渋滞することになると予想されてい
ます。
オサマ・ビン・ラディンからのとんだクリスマス・プレゼントというわけです。
--KK

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Terror Alert Is Raised to 'High,' Increasing Scrutiny of Travelers
By JOHN H. CUSHMAN Jr.

Published: December 22, 2003

Associated Press
The government is raising the national threat warning from "elevated" to
"high."


WASHINGTON, Dec. 21 ? The Bush administration raised the nation's
antiterrorism alert status a notch on Sunday, indicating a newly heightened
concern about the possibility of an attack in coming days.

Announcing the change at a news conference in Washington, Tom Ridge, the
secretary of homeland security, said the danger of an attack in the "near
term," possibly in the United States, was "perhaps greater now than at any
point since Sept. 11, 2001."

Coming at the peak of the holiday season, the change in alert level will
subject millions of travelers to tighter security measures at airports and
elsewhere and will set off more intense surveillance by federal, state and
local law enforcement agencies at borders and around vulnerable targets.

Security officials said the decision to increase the level of alert to
"high" from "elevated" ? to orange from yellow on the department's
five-color scale ? came after intense consultations over the weekend among
intelligence agencies, which had picked up recent talk among extremists
about some unspecified but spectacular attack.

The alert level has been at yellow, the midpoint on the scale, since May,
when it was set at orange for 10 days after a number of deadly bombings in
Saudi Arabia and Morocco. This is the fourth time that the government has
set an orange alert. The highest level of alert, red, is reserved for an
emergency in which a possible attack is considered imminent.

Although New York City has remained on orange alert even while the rest of
the nation was on yellow, city officials said at a rare Sunday evening news
briefing at City Hall that the higher federal threat level had led them to
step up counterterrorism efforts.

City officials said they were putting more police officers on patrol at
landmarks and important sites, establishing checkpoints at bridges and
tunnels, and calling in teams of National Guard members who are trained to
detect chemical, biological and radiological substances.

"Even though we are not aware of any specific plots targeting New York City,
we have to always act as if there are, because it's the best way to deter a
terrorist attack," Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said. Mr. Bloomberg urged New
Yorkers to go about their business and made a point of saying that he still
intended to ring in the new year in Times Square.

In September, federal officials said they were tightening the criteria for
heightened alerts, avoiding changes unless there was credible and detailed
intelligence to justify a public warning. In the past, the system has been
criticized by security experts, local officials and others who said it
unnecessarily confused and alarmed the public.

Mr. Ridge said on Sunday that he acted after consulting other agencies about
new intelligence that suggested a higher level of risk "around the holiday
season and beyond." In particular, he cited concerns that attackers might
again try to use commercial aircraft as a weapon.

Law enforcement officials said they were especially guarding against an
attack using passenger planes departing from abroad and heading toward the
United States.

Mr. Ridge said the deterrent effect of the heightened security, for example
at border points, was a consideration in his decision.

"We know from experience that the increased security that is implemented
when we raise the threat level, along with increased vigilance, can help
disrupt or deter terrorist attacks," he said.

He suggested that the latest intelligence was firm enough to meet the new
standards for an elevated alert.

"The U.S. intelligence community has received a substantial increase in the
volume of threat-related intelligence reports," Mr. Ridge said. "These
credible sources suggest the possibility of attacks against the homeland
around the holiday season and beyond."

Last week, federal law enforcement agencies issued renewed warnings to New
York and other large American cities about the possibility of terrorist
attacks over the holidays. But as recently as Friday, officials at the
security department said there were no plans to change the national alert
status.

On Sunday in New York, suspicious packages prompted the evacuation of
throngs from the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the suspension of service on
a busy Manhattan subway line.


以下省略（本文はこの倍ほどあります）。