National terror alert raised from yellow to orange. So what?

The administration is afraid that it will be removed from office and tried as war criminals!

I'm probably more in the camp of AU and CI, but fishin', your explanation was good.
What troubles me a bit is that this alert escalation came not from Tom Ridge but from John Ashcroft. Why was that?

tom ridge is a soldier, John Aschroft is a god.

Perhaps because Ashcroft is the senior Law Enforcement person in the country? I dunno for sure.

There have been a number of little signals that a significant terrorist operation may be intended sometime during the next few weeks. Valentine's Day might carry the symbolic weight that a operational planner might like. The end of the Haji period is also symbolic, and might be used to bolster popular support within some Islamic communities. Finally, the world's attention will be focused on the UN at the end of next week. Three symbols all grouped nicely together within a few days might be tempting. As tempting as that timing might be, I don't think a major attack will be mounted before hostilities in Iraq commence. A significant attack on American soil, or Western interests, at this time would tend to consolidate UN resolve, and muffle the Pacifist Movement. That would be counter-productive, and might be delayed until later when Saddam will no longer be interested in delaying tactics.

The risk of a significant terrorist operation, in my opinion, rises dramatically as February draws to a close. A lot can happen next week that will effect time tables by all parties, and we will just have to be patient and see how it plays out. The time when Saddam can back down is now measured in days, in the following week the window will begin to narrow to hours. Tick-tock.

...While Tom Ridge, who has the title of Director of Homeland Security (a cabinet level job?) sits around all day contemplating his navel. J Edgar Hoover was also the most senior law enforcement person in the country at an earlier time. How come we've never seen his image on a postage stamp? I dunno for sure.

J. Edgar Hoover NEVER held the senior Law Enforcement position in this country.. That function is the function of the Atty General, J. Edgar Hoover's bosses. Back to Civics 101 with you.

so Ashcroft as cabinet level dept of justice outranks Ridge as cabinet level dept of homeland security? ok i guess i am confused.

No one's figured out what Tom Ridge and the Homeland Security bunch is going to do yet. It would seem likely that in the future the head of HS would be the one making announcements, but with John Ashcroft's need for attention disorder it will be difficult for him to watch anyone else dancing up there on the stage. It ought to be fun to watch, but the situation is so dangerous it isn't funny.
It will be akin to the time when Henry Kissinger was a Presidental Advisor and we saw more of him than we did of the actual Secretary of State, Bill SomethingSomething.

The National Homeland Security Council has 5 designated members under the law passed by Congress. The President, Vice-President, The Atty. General, Sec. of Homeland Defense and Sec. of the Department of Defense.

Of the 3 cabinet level position the Atty. General is the senior official. (There is and always has been a pecking order within the cabinet.. The Sec. of State sits at the top of that pecking order.)

so fishin' you trying to tell us this is not a song and dance act to keep Aschroft in the public eye?

The only thing I'm telling you is that there are plenty of valid reasons for why he was there and spoke. I'm sure you'll run off and make up your assertions for every other possible reason in the world anyway though.

yup i'm off and running

CBS NEWS 6/12/02
That Ashcroft overstated the threat of the Padilla Plot and of "dirty bombs" as weapons of mass destruction, shows with egregious clarity how willing Ashcroft is to use scare-tactics to grab headlines, control the news agenda and make himself look good.
By Wednesday morning, White House sources were telling USA Today that Ashcroft had been chastised for overplaying the Padilla Plot.

possibly a history of media grandstanding?

These "alerts" from our government have been so numerous they have become meaningless.

What are we being asked to do? Suspect each other as terrorists? Maybe so, but such suspiscion smells of McCarthyism to me. It's like we aren't to trust anyone these days, Dubya included.

Why suspect each other? This is excessive. But if you see a bag or suitcase left in the street, and no one claims ownership of this item, it is better to call 911. Israelis are trained acting this way, and many explosions were prevented due to vigilance of civilians.

Steissd- Thank you. You are someone who knows about terrorism, up close and personal. I think that the problem is with us Americans, is that even after 9/11, many of us still think that we are untouchable.

As far as telling the citizenry, it DOES look like a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" proposition. I think that the political pundits will make "hay" out of this no matter how it falls out.

I personally, will not change the way that I live. But as a person who has always been aware of her surroundings (got that from my years in NY) I will be more vigilant, more careful, and lots more aware of what is going on around me.

I was two blocks and 20 minutes away from the kid who crashed a plane into a Tampa bank building last year. He flew over MacDill Air Force Base, which is the headquarters of Central Command.

I agree with whomever said that there probably will not be any acts of terrorism until if an when a war begins. Terrorist acts now would just pull more countries in as allies of the US, and the terrorists don't want that.

I think that the people of the US need to wake up, and fast. The world has gotten lots smaller in the last few decades, and terrorism is not just "over there somewhere" anymore!

This morning tells us that the attack will happen at the end of Hajj. Feb.13. It will most likely come in NY and be against Jewish businesses and houses of worship. Since for NY the color is always orange there is no change. The mayor said something to the effect that nothing has changed and the danger or safety level is no different today than it was yesterday.

I take the view that there is nothing that I can do to stop an act of terror. My only hope is that our government and law enforcement agencies can. My son was coming out of the WTC subway when the WTC was hit and I from my terrace in Brooklyn watched as the WTC burned and collapsed. Would any alert to the people have changed things. Of course not it is the countermeasures undertaken taken by the government that has and will.
As for the hue and cry after 9/11. It was not that they did not tell us it was at the ineptitude of our much heralded FBI and CIA and their failures that people were so upset about

au1929- I beg to differ. If you remember, a lot of people died in the 2nd WTC building, because they were told that there was nothing to worry about, so they stayed. No one realized what was happening at that time. I think that if something like that ever happened again, people would get out, fast!