FBI Issues Alert
Against Almanac Carriers
by Ted Bridis, AP Writer
Associated Press
30 December 2003
WASHINGTON
- The FBI (news - web sites) is warning police nationwide to be
alert for people carrying almanacs, cautioning that the popular
reference books covering everything from abbreviations to
weather trends could be used for terrorist planning.
In a
bulletin sent Christmas Eve to about 18,000 police
organizations, the FBI said terrorists may use almanacs "to
assist with target selection and pre-operational planning."
It
urged officers to watch during searches, traffic stops and other
investigations for anyone carrying almanacs, especially if the
books are annotated in suspicious ways.
"The
practice of researching potential targets is consistent with
known methods of al-Qaida and other terrorist organizations that
seek to maximize the likelihood of operational success through
careful planning," the FBI wrote.
The
Associated Press obtained a copy of the bulletin this week and
verified its authenticity.
"For
local law enforcement, it's just to help give them one more
piece of information to raise their suspicions," said David
Heyman, a terrorism expert for the Washington-based Center for
Strategic and International Studies. "It helps make sure
one more bad guy doesn't get away from a traffic stop, maybe
gives police a little bit more reason to follow up on
this."
The FBI
noted that use of almanacs or maps may be innocent, "the
product of legitimate recreational or commercial
activities." But it warned that when combined with
suspicious behavior - such as apparent surveillance - a person
with an almanac "may point to possible terrorist
planning."
"I
don't think anyone would consider us a harmful entity,"
said Kevin Seabrooke, senior editor of The World Almanac. He
said the reference book includes about a dozen pages out of its
1,000 pages total listing the world's tallest buildings and
bridges but includes no diagrams or architectural schematics.
"It's stuff that's widely available on the Internet,"
he said.
The
publisher for The Old Farmers Almanac said Monday terrorists
would probably find statistical reference books more useful than
the collections of Americana in his famous publication of
weather predictions and witticisms.
"While
we doubt that our editorial content would be of particular
interest to people who would wish to do us harm, we will
certainly cooperate to the fullest with national authorities at
any level they deem appropriate," publisher John Pierce
said.
The FBI
said information typically found in almanacs that could be
useful for terrorists includes profiles of cities and states and
information about waterways, bridges, dams, reservoirs, tunnels,
buildings and landmarks. It said this information is often
accompanied by photographs and maps.
The FBI
urged police to report such discoveries to the local U.S. Joint
Terrorism Task Force.
Reprinted
as an historical reference document under the Fair Use doctrine
of international copyright law. http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html
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