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Investigation: Weighing the need to warn public

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Ashcroft
Attorney General John Ashcroft speaking at a recent news conference.  


SUMMARY:

Security was tightened and traffic flowed freely on California's major bridges Friday, a day after Gov. Gray Davis said state officials had received a "credible threat" that the structures could be a target of terrorists.

Davis' announcement comes as the weeklong state of high alert announced by the government Monday has been extended "indefinitely," Homeland Security director Tom Ridge said Friday.

Also Friday, the FBI said it has resolved questions about the identities of the 19 hijackers involved in the September 11 attacks and has discovered places outside the United States where the conspiracy was planned.

Meanwhile, in their search for sources of money used to fund terrorist groups, federal officials are using some of the same skills and knowledge they have employed for years to rein in drug dealers, smugglers, tax evaders and other lawbreakers.

UPDATE:

The Justice Department called the threats to the California bridges "uncorroborated," and some officials criticized the California governor for causing undue alarm.


  •  Summary

  •  Update

  •  Key questions

  •  Who's who

  •  Impact

Attack on America
 CNN.COM SPECIAL REPORT
 CNN NewsPass Video 
Agencies reportedly got hijack tips in 1998
 MORE STORIES
Intelligence intercept led to Buffalo suspects
Report cites warnings before 9/11
 EXTRA INFORMATION
Timeline: Who Knew What and When?
Interactive: Terror Investigation
Terror Warnings System
Most wanted terrorists
What looks suspicious?
In-Depth: America Remembers
In-Depth: Terror on Tape
In-Depth: How prepared is your city?
 RESOURCES
On the Scene: Barbara Starr: Al Qaeda hunt expands?
On the Scene: Peter Bergen: Getting al Qaeda to talk

 VIDEO
Saudi officials say they have found 'no direct evidence' of financial support for terrorists. CNNfn's Allan Dodds Frank reports (October 31)

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(QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)
 

"I'm getting a little impatient with these nonspecific threats," U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Oregon, told CNN. "I guess they're saying you should continue with business as usual, but you should all go to your bunkers."

Friday morning traffic rolled across the Golden Gate Bridge, with National Guard members dispatched to the Bay area by Davis to supplement security provided by the California Highway Patrol and the U.S. Coast Guard. (Full story)

As part of the effort to track down terrorists, Ridge also told reporters Friday that he is working to help government agencies consolidate their intelligence databases.

Information from the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the State Department and the FBI is being collected and will be housed in the office of the attorney general, Ridge said. (Full story)

Saudi Arabian officials and others have questioned whether some of the hijackers identified by the FBI in the weeks after the attacks used stolen identifications. Mueller said those questions have been answered.

"We at this point definitely know the 19 hijackers who were responsible," he said. "We have been successful in working with our foreign counterparts in identifying places where the conspiracy we believe was hatched as well as others who may have been involved in the conspiracy."

Mueller provided no new information on the hijackers' identities beyond his statement at a briefing Friday for reporters. Neither did he name any of the places abroad where authorities now believe the conspiracy was initiated, or any of the other conspirators.

Officials say the new Operation Green Quest -- a multi-agency effort led by the Customs Service -- will probe such areas as counterfeiting, credit card fraud, fraudulent import and export schemes, drug trafficking, cash smuggling and other activities that could be used by al Qaeda and other terrorist groups for financing their operations.

Investigators will use undercover operations, electronic surveillance, intelligence data and other resources to uncover underground financial systems, illicit charities and corrupt institutions that may be raising money for terrorists here at home and abroad. (Full story)

KEY QUESTIONS:

What tactics are being used to get people in custody to talk about any knowledge they may have of the September attacks?

What avenues are international investigators pursuing to trace the source of funding for the suspected hijackers? Click here for more.

What clues about the September 11 attacks have U.S. investigators learned from the hundreds of arrests made?

How will the expansion of law-enforcement powers affect Americans' civil liberties? Click here for more.

How long can suspects be held, and on what charges are they being held? Click here for more.

What groups are U.S. investigators focusing on, and what are their aims? Click here for more.

WHO'S WHO:

George W. Bush: U.S. president

Colin Powell: U.S. secretary of state Click here for more

Condoleezza Rice: National security adviser Click here for more

John Ashcroft: U.S. attorney general

Robert Mueller: FBI director Click here for more

George Tenet: CIA director. Click here for more

Osama bin Laden: U.S. authorities have named bin Laden, a wealthy Saudi exile living in Afghanistan, as the prime suspect in masterminding the September 11 attacks. Click here for more

IMPACT:

Information gained from the investigation could lead to fundamental changes in U.S. security and intelligence systems, as well as surveillance laws.



 
 
 
 



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