FBI Demanded Vegas Hotel Owners to Turn Over List of Everyone Who Booked Rooms Through New Year's to Check Against Terrorist List; One Hotel Refused, Hit With Subpoena (NewsWeek)
Intercepts Had Flight Numbers, Specific Routes of Airlines 'For The First Time, People Were Definitely Freaked Out,' Says U.S. Official
NEW YORK, Since the recent terror alert change to Code Orange last month, federal agencies have launched the most drastic security measures since 9/11, with the cancellation of flights and F-16 fighters shadowing others. In Las Vegas, one of the cities mentioned in intelligence reports as being a target for an attack, the FBI demanded hotel owners relinquish names of everyone who booked rooms through New Year's so they could be matched up...
Some conversations between suspected Qaeda terrorists intercepted by the National Security Agency seemingly referred to an upcoming airplane attack in Los Angeles. Intelligence reports even mentioned specific routes and flight numbers on British, French and Mexican airlines, a level of detail agents had rarely heard before, report Investigative Correspondents Mark Hosenball and Michael Isikoff in the January 12 issue of Newsweek (on newsstands Monday, January 5). "For the first time, people were definitely freaked out," says a senior U.S. official.
In L.A., the FBI began a "disruption" campaign. Agents fanned out into the city and interrogated dozens of Middle Eastern immigrants whose names had popped up in terror-related probes, Newsweek reports. At the newly built Terrorist Screening Center in suburban Washington, analysts compared the names on the targeted flights with government watch lists of terror suspects-and came up with several possible matches.
But it turned out to be a false alarm. The U.S. asked French authorities to track down several passengers on an Air France flight whose names closely matched the list. But none had any apparent connection to terrorism. One was a 6-year-old child. The FBI's screening of Vegas hotel visitors and questioning of Arab immigrants were equally fruitless. Though drained and somewhat frustrated, federal officials aren't prepared to let down their guard. Administration officials tell Newsweek that the Code Orange alert will likely remain for at least a few more weeks.