U.S. Steps Up Security but Not Threat Level
DHS secretary says there's no "specific, credible information" on U.S. attack.
July 2, 2007 — -- As Americans head out for the Fourth of July holiday weekend, they find stepped-up security at the nation's airports since the recent terrorist incidents in Great Britain.
There are more armed officers and additional canine units on patrol, and random searches of cars. Airport security officials said they would also be moving drivers along more quickly and responding fast to any reports of suspicious or abandoned vehicles.
The United States has also increased the number of air marshals on overseas flights.
The alert level at the nation's airports remains orange, signifying a high risk of a terrorist attack, but the threat level for the country remains yellow, which means an elevated risk of an attack.
Department of Homeland Security officials insist there is no need to raise the threat level outside airports.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, speaking on "Good Morning America" today, said, "We do not have any specific, credible information about an attack directed at the United States."
Department spokesman Russ Knocke spoke to ABC News about making any changes to the threat level. "We're very serious about our responsibility to be clear and sober about an increase or an adjustment and why it's being made. We're not going to make an adjustment to the threat level if there is no credible intelligence to support it."
Knocke insisted that politics plays no role in determining whether to raise or lower threat levels, saying, "that does not factor into our decision."
Some question whether the department, in implementing stepped-up security in the past few days, has raised the threat level to the next level in practice if not in name.
Knocke and others denied that. They said they would be taking significantly more measures, both visibly and behind the scenes if security was increased to the next and highest level, which is red. Red signifies a severe risk of a terrorist attack.
Security measures under a red threat level could include barricades in front of airports, checking all vehicles, and National Guard troops in airports.
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