Source: Intellibridge.com
Following the Mar. 11 terrorist bombings of Madrid commuter trains, the Department of Homeland Security issued a bulletin that advised “state officials, police and transit and rail agencies to be vigilant,” according to The Associated Press.
DHS spokesman Brian Roehrkasse said those receiving the bulletin have been asked to consider boosting surveillance and be on the lookout for unattended bags and backpacks. The Madrid attacks involved ten explosive-filled backpacks that detonated within a 15-minute span. Police also found and detonated three additional bombs. While the Basque separatist group ETA was identified early on as the likely perpetrators, which its political arm has denied, an al Qaeda-linked group known as the Brigades of Abu Hafs al-Masri claimed responsibility for the attacks in a series of emails and other statements sent to Arab media.
One of the statements included a fresh threat against the U.S., “We would like to announce to all Muslims in the world that 90 percent of the preparations of operation “wind of black death” designed to be performed in America has finished, and will be performed soon God willing (at the Mujahideen’s convenience). Believers will celebrate the victory of God,” Al Jazeera reported. Despite issuing the bulletin, DHS’s Roehrkasse said on March 12 that “we have no specific indications that terrorists are considering such attacks on the United States in the near term.”
Meanwhile, DHS Undersecretary Asa Hutchinson told reporters, “There’s certainly constant review and probably bigger probing as a result of what has happened, and (we are) certainly looking to see if there’s any common thread or design on this mode of transportation,” according to Reuters. Hutchinson added that the government was working to shore up security in the nation’s rail transportation system. However, DHS officials said they do not intend to raise the national terror alert level.
ANALYSIS:
The attacks in Spain have focused heightened concern of rail transportation security in the U.S. Although DHS spent more than $115 million on rail and transit security in 2003, significantly higher figures were spent on aviation security as well as maritime and port security.
The primary reason rail transportation security has gotten less attention is because of the difficulty and expense in protecting railways and railway facilities. Still, the FBI sounded the alarm in October 2002 that al-Qaeda might target the nation’s passenger trains, including subways, commuter trains, and freight trains.
Security experts warn that this transportation sector could be targeted as a result of heavier security measures implemented in the aviation and maritime sectors. The Madrid bombings prompted Senator Ernest Hollings (D-South Carolina) to re-introduce legislation on March 12 he has sponsored that would increase efforts to protect rail passengers from potential terrorist threats.
The Rail Transportation Security Act (S. 2216) would require DHS to undertake a risk assessment of rail security threats and devise steps railroads could take to protect infrastructure and facilities, terminals, tunnels, bridges, and other at-risk areas. It would authorize $515 million for fiscal year 2005 to implement the department’s recommendations.
According to a March 12 Wall Street Journal report, the Transportation Security Administration in recent months “has increased contact with rail-industry leaders and credits the industry with spending more efforts on analyzing its security situation and planning to reduce the risk of an attack.”