Bill Rankin, Tasgola Karla Bruner, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution
Americans will continue to receive warnings about possible terrorist threats --- even if the information is incomplete, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft said Tuesday.
“Obviously, we don’t get engraved invitations from terrorists to specific events at specific times,” Ashcroft said at a news conference at the federal courthouse in Atlanta.
Ashcroft called on the American people “to increase our vigilance and be daily engaged in our fight against terrorism.” He said the public needs to have as much information as possible about potential threats, even when it is not specific, because the government relies on the public to report suspicious activity.
Ashcroft sandwiched a news conference between visits with members of Atlanta’s anti-terrorism task force and a meeting with the federal judiciary.
In an interview, Ashcroft said the recent confirmation by U.S. intelligence officials that Osama bin Laden is still alive “reminds us that we are still at war. . . . We need to be aggressive around the world to make sure we delay, disrupt and defeat terrorism.”
The attorney general asked anyone who has a legitimate tip to come forward.
“I think when people have reason to believe that they are developing information about a terrorist threat, we definitely want them to respond to us,” he said.
Ashcroft extolled a decision Monday by a special appeals court that ruled the Justice Department has broad new powers under anti-terrorism legislation enacted last year to use secret wiretaps as a weapon in the fight against terrorism. The decision lifts restrictions on the sharing of information between law enforcement and intelligence officials.
Ashcroft also said the law doesn’t erode the nation’s civil liberties.
“It’s a false fear to say what happened (Monday) threatens the American people,” he said. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is limited in its application to “terrorists, suspected terrorists, agents of foreign powers” and does not apply to normal criminal activity, he said.
Ashcroft rebuffed criticism that he is hampering law enforcement agencies that fight terrorism by not allowing them to check the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
Those records, which are kept by the FBI, include information on anyone who lawfully purchases a firearm. An al-Qaida training manual found in Afghanistan noted how easy it is for people to buy weapons in the United States. Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) has called it a “blind spot about the National Rifle Association and guns and lists of people who buy them.”
“I didn’t create the blind spot,” Ashcroft said. “The law specifically prohibits the utilization of that information for anything other than an audit of the information. If in conducting an audit you come across things that signal illegality, you can pursue those.”
He added: “Individuals are concerned that we would violate the law and restrict civil liberties. This signals our intent to abide by the law.”