Terror Alert Level Lowered to Yellow

The Bush administration lowered the national terror alert level Friday as Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said that an urgent threat had passed.

“I know we are all thankful that nothing happened,” said Ridge, announcing the lowering of the threat level at a news conference. However, airports and airlines will keep their high alert status, said a government official speaking on condition of anonymity.

During heightened alerts, airports are asked to restrict parking near terminals if necessary, increase law enforcement patrols of terminals and perimeters and conduct random checks of vehicles on airport roadways.

Certain locations, and sectors of the economy, will keep their security posture as though the threat level had not gone down, Ridge said, although he offered no specifics.

The alert level went from orange, signifying a high threat of terrorist attacks, to yellow, signifying an elevated threat. The conclusion of the holidays – and the large gatherings that go with them, played a role in the decision to lower the threat level, Ridge said.

“Although we’ve returned to yellow, we have not let our guard down,” he said.

Homeland Security ranks threats by colors, starting with green at the bottom and followed by blue, yellow, orange and red as perceived dangers intensify. The warning level can be changed for the entire country or for specific regions and economic sectors.

The level was raised to orange, or the second-highest level, on Dec. 21. That marked the fifth time the national alert level was raised to orange since the system was announced in March 2002. It has never dipped below yellow, representing an “elevated” risk.

Some officials have worried that operatives of the al-Qaida terrorist network were deliberately trying to spoof U.S. and international intelligence networks aimed at uncovering terrorist threats, by planting misinformation on lines of communications they believed were monitored.

However, other U.S. officials said the amount and energy level of the threatening intelligence were too widespread for this to entirely be a disinformation campaign.

During the orange alert period, U.S. officials said they were focused on possible threats to the aviation system, particularly the threat of overseas flights being hijacked and used in Sept. 11, 2001-style attacks on American targets.

Security was raised to extraordinary levels over the last several weeks. In particular, several international flights were canceled and military helicopters patrolled during the large celebrations on New Year’s Eve in Las Vegas and at Times Square in New York City.

The terror alert has been raised to orange several times since the color-coded alert system was put in place in early 2002 after the Sept. 11 attacks.

No attacks have taken place on U.S. soil during those orange alerts in the past.