Ridge Points to Al Qaeda File Use (Computer File was open in Jan 04)

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-terror4aug04.story
Ridge Points to Al Qaeda File Use
A Landmark Is Liberated, in Part
By Josh Meyer Times Staff Writer August 4, 2004

WASHINGTON — Bush administration officials Tuesday defended their decision to raise the terrorism threat level this week, saying that Al Qaeda operatives had reviewed and used the terrorist network's computerized surveillance files in recent months. <snip>

The detailed surveillance files, relayed by Pakistan to authorities in Washington late last week, helped trigger Sunday's elevation of the terrorism threat level — from "yellow," or elevated, to "orange," or high — in New York; Newark, N.J.; and the nation's capital. Authorities realized that the files documented Al Qaeda efforts from as far back as 2000 to scout the institutions as potential targets.

The timing of the announcement, three days after the end of the Democratic National Convention, prompted speculation that the decision to raise the threat level was in part politically motivated. <snip>

As U.S. forensic computer experts scrutinized the surveillance files and other evidence, they discovered e-mails between suspected Al Qaeda operatives, reports written by at least one suspected member of the terrorist network and indications that others had recently viewed the files, one U.S. intelligence official said.<snip>

The official said the information about Al Qaeda operatives accessing the surveillance files comes from several intelligence sources, including from interrogations of Khan and other recently captured militants, as well as from seized computers and other documentation.<snip>

Ridge acknowledged that the Al Qaeda files about the financial institutions provided no definitive indications that terrorist operatives had recently visited the buildings to update their surveillance. But he insisted that the threat was real, saying the files — combined with other recent intelligence — offered alarming indications about the terrorist network's preoccupation with launching another attack on U.S. soil.<snip>