STORM2K

Al Qaeda's latest threat of terrorist attacks is focused on operations in three areas: the continental United States, the Persian Gulf region or Southeast Asia, according to intelligence officials.
Intelligence from both the FBI and CIA indicates that al Qaeda is preparing to conduct a major attack that will cause mass casualties, like the September 11 attacks, according to officials.
The CIA is worried that the new attack will be al Qaeda's first attempt to carry out a terror strike using deadly chemical, biological or radiological weapons, said officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

In the most specific warning to date, CIA Director George Tenet testified Tuesday that intelligence indicates the al-Qaida terror network is plotting new attacks in the United States and on the Arabian Peninsula, possibly including the “use of a radiological dispersion device as well as poisons and chemicals.”
ADDING NEW DETAILS on the reason the Bush administration last week raised the terror assessment threat level to “orange,” or high risk,” Tenet told the Senate Intelligence Committee that the information gathered by his agency suggests the plots are close to fruition. He said they are believed to be timed to coincide with the Hajj — the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, Islam’s holiest site, which began Saturday and concludes at the end of the week.
“The intelligence is not idle chatter on the part of terrorists and their associates,” Tenet said. “It is the most specific we have seen, and it is consistent with both our knowledge of al-Qaida doctrine and our knowledge of plots this network and particularly its senior leadership has been working on for years.”