Ridge, Ashcroft report agencies cooperating

WASHINGTON – Attorney General John Ashcroft and Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge issued a joint statement Friday saying their agencies are cooperating closely to deal with a rising al Qaeda threat. It was an attempt to blunt criticism that Americans are getting a mixed message from the agencies.

“We are working together, and we will take all necessary actions to protect the American people” including increasing the color-coded terror threat level if warranted, Ridge and Ashcroft said.

Ridge was notably absent from a news conference by Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller on Wednesday to detail what they said was a continuing flow of intelligence indicating a strong possibility al Qaeda would attack America sometime in the coming months.

Critics on Capitol Hill and some officials in the Bush administration with access to the same intelligence said Ashcroft and Mueller had overstated the threat and that Ridge’s absence – and the decision not to raise the color-coded threat level – could confuse the public by making the government appear divided about the danger.

The joint statement closely tracked what Ashcroft said two days earlier: that there is “credible intelligence from multiple sources” saying al Qaeda will try to launch an attack on the United States this summer.

Law enforcement and intelligence officials say they are worried that al Qaeda might try to time attacks to coincide with next month’s G-8 economic summit in Georgia, the Democratic National Convention in July in Boston or the Republican National Convention in August in New York. The summer Olympics in Greece are also seen as a prime possible target.

The political fallout from the March 11 train bombings in Madrid, which contributed to the election defeat of Spain’s governing party and withdrawal of Spanish troops from Iraq, is considered an indicator that al Qaeda might attempt to influence this year’s U.S. elections through an attack.

In their statement, Ridge and Ashcroft said their agencies are cooperating with each other and with the CIA and state and local governments to deal with the threat. They also noted that the public has been enlisted to help locate seven al Qaeda operatives believed involved in possible plots against the United States.

Earlier Friday, Ridge insisted that there was no turf war or disagreement between the Justice and Homeland Security Departments over threat warnings.

“We communicate every day. We talk every day. We collaborate our efforts every day,” Ridge said after signing an agreement with the European Union on sharing of air passenger information. “Whatever we can do to put that unfortunate story to rest, we need to do it immediately.”