[iwar] [fc:Possible.threat.to.Boston.relayed;.danger.downplayed]

From: Fred Cohen (fc@all.net)
Date: 2001-09-21 19:10:17


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Subject: [iwar] [fc:Possible.threat.to.Boston.relayed;.danger.downplayed]
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Possible threat to Boston relayed; danger downplayed

By Walter V. Robinson and Frank Phillips, Globe Staff, 9/21/2001

Attorney General John D.  Ashcroft yesterday informed Acting Governor
Jane M.  Swift and Boston Mayor Thomas M.  Menino that the government
has information that Boston may be targeted for terrorist attack this
weekend, city and state officials said last night. 

But the officials emphasized that Ashcroft said there was no definitive
evidence of a threat, and that Ashcroft said he did not have specific
details of any potential targets in Boston, nor which weekend day. 

Menino refused to disclose what Ashcroft said.  But, asked about his
level of concern, he said, ''People should not be alarmed,'' and added
that city public safety officials knew of nothing to corroborate
Ashcroft's warning. 

Last night, Justice Department spokeswoman Mindy Tucker confirmed that
Ashcroft and Swift had talked.  But Tucker refused to say what they
discussed.  She did say, however, that officials in Boston, like
officials across the country, should remain on alert for potential
terrorist attacks in the wake of the Sept.  11 terrorist attacks on the
World Trade Center and the Pentagon. 

A state official close to the investigation into the attacks, and a
senior city official, said Ashcroft placed separate calls to the
governor and mayor to register his concern that the city might be the
target for a weekend attack.  Both officials declined to be identified. 

But the state official said there was no cause for alarm.  If Swift had
any indication that Ashcroft's warning was a matter of public concern,
he said, ''she would not say, `Let's not tell anyone.'''

Menino confirmed that Ashcroft called him late yesterday morning, and he
said he subsequently talked with the governor.  Menino said he could not
discuss either conversation. 

''At this time, people should go about their daily routines.  The police
will be observant,'' the mayor said. 

Publicly, Swift's aides had little to say.  James Borghesani, her
spokesman, said only that Swift and Ashcroft talked, that the discussion
was initiated by Swift, and that they discussed closer state and federal
cooperation in the terrorism investigation. 

The city and state officials said the Ashcroft call did not prompt them
to order any heightened state of alert.  But last night, one federal law
enforcement official in Boston said, ''We have received guidance to
remain on high alert,'' based on a ''high threat level'' that existed in
Boston prior to yesterday's conversations.  The official, who asked that
he not be identified, said no specific target in Boston has been
mentioned. 

Stepped up security measures have been evident all over the city since
the Sept.  11 terrorist attacks, from public buildings to the harbor and
Logan International Airport.  Even Fenway Park, with parking
restrictions near the stadium, has been affected.  And yesterday, the
federal government prohibited aircraft of any kind from flying any
closer than three miles from professional or college sporting events, or
any other major outdoor gathering. 

Logan International Airport is located a little more than four miles
from Fenway Park, and often its takeoff patterns bring planes well
within a three-mile radius of Fenway.  It could not be immediately
determined last night how the new flight ban would affect Logan
operations during the ongoing Red Sox homestand at Fenway.  One option
would appear to be for Logan flight controllers to have all flights pass
over Massachusetts Bay or South Boston. 

The high alert has prompted the US Coast Guard to increase patrols in
Boston Harbor.  On at least one occasion, it closed the harbor to all
boat traffic. 

Deputy US Marshals have patrolled outside the J.  Joseph Moakley Federal
Courthouse with semiautomatic weapons since the incident, and uniformed
state and federal officers have swarmed over the airport and kept cars
from parking anywhere near the terminal. 

State Police, in cruisers with lights flashing, have been parked around
the clock in the portion of the Massachusetts turnpike Extension under
the Prudential Center. 

Globe Staff reporters Peter Howe, Judy Rakowsky, Rick Klein, and Wayne
Washington contributed to this report. 

This story ran on page A1 of the Boston Globe on 9/21/2001.  © Copyright
2001 Globe Newspaper Company. 

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