Teddy Bear Terror Threat?
— -- The purchase of Valentine's Day teddy bears along with propane fuel and BB pellets draws suspicion in California. Congress is opening a probe into the failure of U.S. interlligence in the Sept. 11 attacks. And a North Carolina truck driver reports a possible hijacking attempt.
Worrisome Purchase of Toy Bears, Fuel, BBs
S A N T A C L A R I T A, Calif., Feb. 14 — A man who purchased several smallpropane canisters, Valentine's Day teddy bears and BB gun pelletsfrom a Wal-Mart store in this Los Angeles suburb is now beingsought by the FBI.
Although the purchase made last month could be harmless, the FBIsaid Wednesday, the items could be assembled into small bombs.
The agency received an anonymous tip last week that a manbetween the ages of 22 and 35 and possibly of Arab descent paidcash for the items on Jan. 15 and left the Santa Clarita store in awhite delivery truck.
"The man is not a suspect," the FBI's Los Angeles office saidin a statement. "The FBI is interested in identifying the whitedelivery truck and this man in an effort to clarify the nature ofhis purpose."
According to the FBI, the man purchased seven twin-pack propanefuel canisters, each 8 inches tall; 12 packs of BB pellets, eachcontaining about 350 BBs; and nine white Valentine's Day teddybears, each about 20 inches tall.
— Reuters
Congress Probes Intelligence Failure in Sept. 11 Attacks
W A S H I N G T O N, Feb. 14 — Leaders of the two congressional intelligence committees announced a wide-ranging inquiry today into why the CIA and other U.S. intelligence agencies failed to learn of and prevent the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
"We owe this to the 3,000 who died, their families, and the rest of America," said Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.
The joint inquiry will include the membership of both the House and Senate intelligence committees.
"We must leave no stone unturned," said Sen. Richard Shelby, vice chairman of the Senate panel. "We've got to turn them all up."
L. Britt Snider, a former CIA inspector general, will be the senior appointed official in the investigation. Snider left the agency's chief oversight position last year.
Hearings are expected to begin in April, Graham said last weekend. Some will be public; others will be closed to protect classified information. The inquiry will have subpoena powers.
U.S. officials say they have found no missed piece of intelligence that would have provided specific warning of the attacks. But the inquiry will look at whether the intelligence community is structured, funded and led in such a way that leaves the United States open to further major terrorist attacks.
CIA Director George J. Tenet, also the nominal chief of all U.S. intelligence, welcomed the inquiry. "It's important we have a record. It is a record of discipline, strategy, focus and action," he said.
The joint investigation avoids the potential for dueling hearings, and possibly disparate conclusions, by the Democratic-controlled Senate committee and the Republican House panel. The Bush administration has agreed to provide documents and officials to testify.
—The Associated Press
Trucker Reports Possible Hijack Attempt
A T L A N T A, Feb. 14 — Authorities in four states were on the lookoutfor two men described as Arabic after the driver of a fuel tankerreported they tried to run him off the road and may have intendedto hijack the truck.
The FBI and North Carolina Highway Patrol issued an alert forthe Carolinas, Virginia and Georgia after the driver told policethe men tried to force him off a highway about 30 miles east ofRaleigh early Wednesday, Georgia State Patrol spokesman Jim Shulersaid. Investigators said it may have been a case of road rage, but theNorth Carolina patrol still broadcast a radio message to localpolice to be on the lookout for a Dodge Neon with New Jersey platesdriven by two men who appeared to be Arabic and warning that themen could be armed. Shuler said the FBI asked the patrol to pass along a statewidelookout for the men saying they were wanted for questioning "inwhat would appear to be an attempted hijacking of atractor-trailer." "It sounded serious to us," Shuler said, noting the FBI'sterrorism alert issued late Monday. "In times like this, we decidedthat we have to do something about it."
— The Associated Press