# FBI "General Threat" of Terror Attacks- Anything more specific? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 12, 2001, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-general-threat-of-terror-attacks-anything-more-specific/87019 "2001-10-12T12:55:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Vinnie\_Virginslayer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/53a042/32.png) [@Vinnie\_Virginslayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vinnie_Virginslayer)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2001, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-general-threat-of-terror-attacks-anything-more-specific/87019/1 "2001-10-12T12:55:49Z")
From Drudge Report, here is the “general threat” Bush was talking about last night: \*\*[http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel01/skyfall.htm](http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel01/skyfall.htm) For Immediate Release October 11, 2001 Washington D.C. FBI National Press Office Certain information, while not specific as to target, gives the government reason to believe that there may be additional terrorist attacks within the United States and against U.S. interests overseas over the next several days. The FBI has again alerted all local law enforcement to be on the highest alert and we call on all people to immediately notify the FBI and local law enforcement of any unusual or suspicious activity. \*\* Anyone have any ideas of more specifics? Or do you think this is a “cover our ass” statement issued by the FBI? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2001, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-general-threat-of-terror-attacks-anything-more-specific/87019/2 "2001-10-12T13:14:13Z")
Mostly it’s a ‘cover our ass’ situation. If the FBI had details on an impending attack one would hope they’d take specific steps to prevent it (arrest any suspects, increase security at a suspected target, etc.). Most analysis I’ve seen has said that since the attacks on 9/11 faith in the CIA and FBI is very low. For what it’s worth the FBI is doing this to try and show it is doing what it can. The analysis also said that this warning isn’t the result of any one, specific thing but rather is a sense of things when looking at the big picture. For my part I believe the FBI is doing all it can but it can’t be an easy job. We live in a big country and we still have civil rights the FBI has to observe. Were we living in, say, Iraq I imagine anyone who even looked funny would be tossed forthwith into a prison and left to rot regardless of whether or not they were really a threat. ---
**Author:** ![Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ebca7d/32.png) [@Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Violet)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2001, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-general-threat-of-terror-attacks-anything-more-specific/87019/3 "2001-10-12T16:14:31Z")
In all fairness to these agencies, perhaps they are not disclosing specifics because they have info. that may enable them to surveil and catch the “evil-doers.” Suppose they said that Hoover Dam is targeted and they tell everyone to stay away. Guess who else will stay away? For a while, anyway. The vague alert does not bother me. FWIW ---
**Author:** ![Hombre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecb155/32.png) [@Hombre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hombre)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2001, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-general-threat-of-terror-attacks-anything-more-specific/87019/4 "2001-10-12T16:44:37Z")
Surely you’re not suggesting the FBI would knowingly use all the citizens in danger from the collapse of the Hoover Dam as ‘bait’ for terrorist are you? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2001, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-general-threat-of-terror-attacks-anything-more-specific/87019/5 "2001-10-12T23:35:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Hombre \* > \*\*Surely you’re not suggesting the FBI would knowingly use all the citizens in danger from the collapse of the Hoover Dam as ‘bait’ for terrorist are you? \*\* No, you mad genius, you. They’re moving quietly, so as not to frighten them off. That’s why it’s called a _covert_ operation. Covert as in “secret”. Get it? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2001, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-general-threat-of-terror-attacks-anything-more-specific/87019/6 "2001-10-12T23:57:43Z")
At the risk of hijacking this thread, wouldn’t blowing up Hoover Dam be a pretty big task? That’s a lot of concrete out there. I suppose Edward Abbey would be happy however. ---
**Author:** ![Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ebca7d/32.png) [@Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Violet)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2001, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-general-threat-of-terror-attacks-anything-more-specific/87019/7 "2001-10-13T01:14:46Z")
Here is a **1997** article about concerns about the Hoover Dam: [http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj\_home/1997/Apr-24-Thu-1997/news/5261682.html](http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/1997/Apr-24-Thu-1997/news/5261682.html) > [@](#): > > Aside from traffic, Porter worries about national security. “In the advent of Waco and Oklahoma City,” he said, Hoover Dam could be targeted by terrorists. “It’s a national treasure that could be vulnerable,” he said. “We need to provide a way around it.” ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2001, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-general-threat-of-terror-attacks-anything-more-specific/87019/8 "2001-10-13T01:54:26Z")
The patient of a doctor my wife works with has an uncle in the CIA (yeah I know, friend of a friend of a friend). The uncle in the CIA urged the doctor to take her kids and leave NYC this weekend and that the city is “being prepared”. Now, whether that means being prepared in the boy scout sense or being prepared in the Thanksgiving turkey sense I’m not sure of. ---
**Author:** ![Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ebca7d/32.png) [@Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Violet)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2001, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-general-threat-of-terror-attacks-anything-more-specific/87019/9 "2001-10-13T02:02:23Z")
Hmm. It is my understanding that most people in certain intel agencies are not supposed to disclose their employer(s). Merely an observation. ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2001, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-general-threat-of-terror-attacks-anything-more-specific/87019/10 "2001-10-13T02:33:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Violet \* > \*\*Hmm. It is my understanding that most people in certain intel agencies are not supposed to disclose their employer(s). Merely an observation. \*\* [http://www.cia.gov/cia/dst/community.html](http://www.cia.gov/cia/dst/community.html) I suppose most aren’t, but some do. I suppose if I had a niece in a city that was about to be bombed, or whatever, I might be tempted to “break cover” and encourage her to leave. That being said, this doctor did take her kids and leave town. ---
**Author:** ![Hombre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecb155/32.png) [@Hombre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hombre)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2001, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-general-threat-of-terror-attacks-anything-more-specific/87019/11 "2001-10-13T02:53:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor \* > \*\*No, you mad genius, you. > > They’re moving quietly, so as not to frighten them off. > > That’s why it’s called a _covert_ operation. > > Covert as in “secret”. > > Get it? :rolleyes: \*\* Hey, **Sporkboy** , My Random House sees it this way: **sarcasm** _n_. **2.** an ironical gibe. [:rolleyes:](http://www.nobodyhere.com/justme/nose.html), indeed. ---
**Author:** ![xanakis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/7bcc69/32.png) [@xanakis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanakis)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2001, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-general-threat-of-terror-attacks-anything-more-specific/87019/12 "2001-10-13T03:20:51Z")
Breaking news: Can’t vouch for the veracity. I just heard on the radio here in the UK that GCHQ, British Intelligence’s code-breaking station, have deciphered a message in Bin Ladens video. When the video is played backwards it says: “Sleepers awake, now is the time to come forward with your faith”. Apparently this is why the FBI issued their warning. They think its possible that something could happen this weekend. As I say, this was just a story on the radio and they didn’t make too big a thing over it so maybe its wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Darwins\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darwins_finch/32/20304_2.png) [@Darwins\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darwins_Finch)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2001, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-general-threat-of-terror-attacks-anything-more-specific/87019/13 "2001-10-13T04:04:42Z")
I would think that if the FBI _had_ more specifics, they’d be making arrests instead of issuing warnings. Just a thought. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2001, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-general-threat-of-terror-attacks-anything-more-specific/87019/14 "2001-10-13T07:13:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Violet \* > \*\*Hmm. It is my understanding that most people in certain intel agencies are not supposed to disclose their employer(s). Merely an observation. \*\* I grew up in DC, I knew plenty of people with parents in the CIA. It was no big secret. Not everyone in the CIA is a _spy_, you know. ---
**Author:** ![Vinnie\_Virginslayer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/53a042/32.png) [@Vinnie\_Virginslayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vinnie_Virginslayer)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2001, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-general-threat-of-terror-attacks-anything-more-specific/87019/15 "2001-10-13T15:44:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by xanakis \* > \*\*Breaking news: > > Can’t vouch for the veracity. I just heard on the radio here in the UK that GCHQ, British Intelligence’s code-breaking station, have deciphered a message in Bin Ladens video. > > When the video is played backwards it says: “Sleepers awake, now is the time to come forward with your faith”. > > Apparently this is why the FBI issued their warning. They think its possible that something could happen this weekend. > > As I say, this was just a story on the radio and they didn’t make too big a thing over it so maybe its wrong. \*\* Myth. They tried playing it backwards on the Stern show, it was gibberish. ---
**Author:** ![Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ebca7d/32.png) [@Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Violet)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2001, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-general-threat-of-terror-attacks-anything-more-specific/87019/16 "2001-10-13T17:04:57Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by **ruadh** :_ > > I grew up in DC, I knew plenty of people with parents in the CIA. It was no big secret. Not everyone in the CIA is a _spy_, you know. And here I was making excuses for this agency for maybe dropping the ball, thinking the poor dears had no secretaries, clerks, or other staff support! Learn something new every day. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![aseymayo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e57/32.png) [@aseymayo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aseymayo)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2001, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-general-threat-of-terror-attacks-anything-more-specific/87019/17 "2001-10-13T17:55:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Vinnie Virginslayer \* > Myth. They tried playing it backwards on the Stern show, it was gibberish. Just an idle question - was Stern expecting to hear it in English? I’m not saying I believe there was a back-recorded message; it’s just hard for me accept Howard Stern as an authority. ---
**Author:** ![Chickenhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7cd45c/32.png) [@Chickenhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chickenhead)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2001, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-general-threat-of-terror-attacks-anything-more-specific/87019/18 "2001-10-13T18:04:47Z")
This question has puzzled me since I started hearing these rumors: if bin Laden were going to release a message like VV mentioned, why would he bother hiding it? I don’t think it’s any secret that he would like for the extremist Muslim world to rise up in a sort of unified jihad. If anything, I’d expect him to be on the horn screaming in a megaphone **YO! MUSLIMS! GET YOUR ASSES OUT OF BED AND LET’S DESTROY SOME STUFF** not hiding the message backwards in a videotape. I think the kind of message the gov’t is referring to is more like specific instructions to operatives. ---
**Author:** ![xanakis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/7bcc69/32.png) [@xanakis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanakis)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2001, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-general-threat-of-terror-attacks-anything-more-specific/87019/19 "2001-10-13T23:12:26Z")
The backwards message wasn’t a straight-forward backward message. It was in some kind of code which GCHQ had to break. They won’t release the exact details of the code for obvious reasons. So just playing the video backwards wouldn’t reveal the message. But it has to be played backwards to reveal the code. This is what I heard but I haven’t heard any more about it so maybe it is false. ---
**Author:** ![Spavined\_Gelding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@Spavined\_Gelding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spavined_Gelding)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2001, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-general-threat-of-terror-attacks-anything-more-specific/87019/20 "2001-10-13T23:52:48Z")
There are times that, as justified as we may be to be pretty gun shy, that you can’t help but think that some place in the bowels of the federal government there is an office with this label on the door: Office for Looking Under the Bed for the Bogeyman. Ever since September 11 we have been so damn jumpy that it is somewhat surprising that anybody has gotten anything done. Calm down. Assess the risk. Recognize that there are a lot of fruit cakes out there and some of them have ready access to microphones. More alarmingly, a fair number of these self appointed Paul Reveres have their own ax to grind. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-general-threat-of-terror-attacks-anything-more-specific/87019.md?page=2)