from an FBI press release dated 24 October 2002:
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On October 23, the FBI distributed through the NLETS communications system, an intelligence update warning state and local law enforcement of recent reporting that al-Qa'ida is targeting the U.S. railway sector.
Information from debriefings of al-Qa'ida detainees as of mid-October indicates that the group has considered directly targeting U.S. passenger trains, possibly using operatives who have a Western appearance.
. . . The U.S. Intelligence Community continues to assess that al-Qa'ida plans to attack targets that they believe would be readily recognized as representing U.S. economic interests. Additional information suggests operatives may try a variety of other attack strategies, such as destroying key rail bridges and sections of track to cause derailments or targeting hazardous material containers. Recently captured al-Qa'ida photographs of U.S. railroad engines, cars, and crossings heighten the intelligence community's concern of this threat. . . . The United States Government, working with state and local law enforcement, the railway industry, and other sectors, has begun the immediate implementation of additional protective measures including increased presence of law enforcement officers, increased surveillance of critical areas and improved physical protections. (for complete text see www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel02/nlets102402.htm) |
this development has raised concerns within the railway enthusiast community about potential national security implications of publishing, both online and in printed form through books and magazines, information describing the national rail infrastructure.
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For Immediate Release Pacer Farm joins the war on terrorism(Washington Grove, Maryland, 1 November 2002) - citing news reports that terrorist organizations have been amassing photographs of the US rail infrastructure, the Washington Grove Pacer Farm has taken immediate ineffective action to curb this threat. in an electronic mail message addressed to several undisclosed recipients, the Pacer Farm webmaster released the following statement:
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