Feds say inauguration attractive terrorist target

Source: Associated Press

The upcoming inauguration of Barack Obama is an attractive target for international and domestic terrorists, but U.S. intelligence officials have no information about specific threats to the Jan. 20 event.

An internal intelligence assessment, obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday, says the high visibility of the event, the presence of dignitaries and the significance of swearing in the country's first black president make the inauguration vulnerable to attacks.

What concerns analysts most, the report says, is the potential use of improvised explosive devices, a hostage situation or suicide bombers.

While security will be tight around the U.S. Capitol, the joint FBI and Homeland Security assessment says nearby hotels, public gatherings, restaurants and roads could be vulnerable to some kind of attack.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/01/07/national/w155155S17.DTL&tsp=1

Think it, but don't publish it. Are you trying to freak everyone out?

Obama cannot do a whistle stop trip to Washington too.

Of course it's a terrorist target!

There's going to be thousands of people, Obama will be sworn in, tons of folks making speeches...

Traffic will be a nightmare...

I do expect our intelligence officials will be ready.

Or are they saying to those out there that would do harm, that the inauguration would be a good time to strike?

SPECIFIC THREATS.

PB

aiming for our first Black president

I remember New Years in DC 1999 - 2000.

We were on high alert at that time, too. That night would have been an ideal target date for an attack. We were told to be on the alert for anything that didn't feel right. A potential terrorist was caught coming into the country (with explosives) in Washington state. I think he was headed to LAX airport or the space needle. I don't remember exactly.

The secure area, near the Lincoln Memorial, where the President and Hillary were was protected by a snow fence. While we were waiting to pass through security, the fence came down and people started flooding into the area. We followed. The area was so crowded we could hardly breathe. Some creep kept rubbing his crotch up against me. I was ready to slap the pervert silly when my spouse convinced me the guy could be unbalanced and we should just get out of there before he shot us. We walked over to 17th street where we found a woman with a battery powered TV. We stood there watching the show on her Television. We could hear the words on the TV before they reached us live by loudspeaker. At midnight fireworks came out of the scaffolding surrounding the Washington Monument. The date odometer had turned over a significant digit. Nothing bad had happened to the country, we worked our way to a Metro station and went home and to bed.

Remember the threat of Y2K? Banks were going to lose your money, Planes were going to fall from the sky, Power plants and water purification plants were going to stop running. A co-worker went out and bought a big generator. I was convinced that it was all a big hoax. Now I think it was created and hyped to give a boost to the H-1b visa program. People were checking the ATM machines after midnight to see if they were working -- no problems. There were no plane crashes, the electricity and water stayed on and my co-worker had to pay a restocking fee when he returned the generator.

I will be watching this one from the warmth and comfort of my family room. It isn't because of a vague threat of terrorism due to the significance of the event. I'll be with you guys in spirit, but I just can't do the walking and standing in the cold anymore. My varicose mapped legs can only take so much. And, who knows I might encounter that creep again -- or someone like him and end up getting arrested for slapping him silly.

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REAL Americans don't want peace until they own the whole world.

in too small a place. I have a friend working this on the medical end in the govt and they are worried about a homegrown Timmy McVeigh. If anything happens in such a large crowd packed like sardines it will be a recipe for disaster. No way can they handle an incident like that. I hope it sleets. I hope it goes well with no incidents or trouble. I can't wait till it is over and he is on the job.

and this is why we have various federal agencies: to tell us the obvious.

Next they should study whether or not warfare is healthy for those involved.