Pearl Harbor The al-Qaida terror network planned to attack the Pearl Harbor Naval Base in recent weeks using airliners hijacked from nearby Honolulu Airport, the Washington Times reported today.
threat reported
Lingle downplays the alleged
al-Qaida plot to hijack airliners
Staff and news services
CLARIFICATION
Wednesday, March 12, 2003» Capt. John Singley, spokesman for U.S. Pacific forces commander Adm. Thomas Fargo, said he told the Star-Bulletin, in part, "CINCPAC does not care to comment about anything reported in the Washington Times," in regard to a story about an alleged terrorist threat to attack nuclear submarines at Pearl Harbor. In a story on Page A1 on March 3, Singley was quoted as saying, "CINCPAC does not care about anything reported in the Washington Times."
The Honolulu Star-Bulletin strives to make its news report fair and accurate. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, call Editor Frank Bridgewater at 529-4791 or email him at corrections@starbulletin.com.The potential targets included ships and nuclear-powered submarines, the newspaper said. Intelligence reports about the threat were sent to senior U.S. officials in the past two weeks and coincided with reports that al-Qaida was planning a major attack, the newspaper reported.
U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye said he was told about the alleged threat about two weeks ago.
"I'm one of the few who have been cleared to receive such information. This is one of many (alleged threats) we have received throughout the year in regard to the whole country.
"I suppose we can't take any information lightly and should take this kind of information seriously. But I can assure you that the military has been alerted and that all of the necessary and appropriate steps have been taken to counter any sort of attack such as the one described by the Washington Times."
Other government officials, including Gov. Linda Lingle, downplayed the newspaper's report.
At a state Capitol news conference this morning, Lingle dismissed the report as "gossip" that could harm the state's tourism industry.
"It is going to be tough enough to maintain our level of visitors without having these reports being thrown around," she said. "Anything that talks about our state in this way is not something we want to allow to be tossed around."
Capt. John Singley, spokesman for Pacific forces commander Adm. Thomas Fargo, told the Star-Bulletin last night, "The CINCPAC doesn't care about anything reported in the Washington Times.
The newspaper reported that officials pointed to the intelligence reports as a factor in the U.S. government's decision on Feb. 7 to raise the terror threat level to orange, or "high" risk of attack.
At the time, Lingle said the state would remain at its own security alert level of "guarded-plus blue," which is two levels below orange and indicates a general risk of terrorist attack.
"The fact that we didn't raise the alert status is an indication that there is no credible threat," Lingle said today. "There is no doubt that Hawaii is one of the safest places in the nation or the world."
On Friday, Lingle told a national TV audience that Hawaii is one of the safest states in the nation. Appearing on "Fox News Live" in New York, Lingle said if people are looking for a place least likely to undergo a terrorist attack, Hawaii is it.
The country's terror threat level was lowered one notch Thursday to yellow, or "elevated," risk of attack.
The Washington Times cited officials familiar with the intelligence reports as saying that al-Qaida was planning to take aim at Pearl Harbor because of its symbolic value. Pearl Harbor was bombed by the Japanese on Dec. 7, 1941, which began the United States' involvement in World War II.
The newspaper said another reason al-Qaida considered targeting Pearl Harbor was because its military facilities are open from the air. There are 18 nuclear-powered submarines and 12 warships based at Pearl Harbor.
A U.S. official familiar with the intelligence report told Reuters news service today that "there was a single report from an unverified, unreliable source that mentioned Pearl Harbor, but it was not in any way connected to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and it was held in very low credibility even at the time it first came in." Mohammed, a key al Qaida leader who allegedly masterminded the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, was captured in Pakistan Saturday.
U.S. Pacific Command
Washington Times
