Run That By Me Again, Mr. Ridge

By: Helen Thomas

Mr. Ridge, we hear you. But we don't understand.

Everyone is supposed to be on "heightened alert", but people also are being urged to go about their business in a normal fashion.

That's the mixed message we received last week from Tom Ridge, director of homeland security. It's the third alert to the nation since October, and officials have suggested that the increased vigilance may have prevented another terrorist attack.

It is good to be forewarned, but the dearth of information from on high is most frustrating. I assume the powers-that-be feel the same way, trying to piece together bits of intelligence in the global scheme of terrorism. But with no details forthcoming, it is difficult for the average citizen to know what to fear, when and where - and what places to avoid. How they can protect themselves and their families?

Ridge wants to be sure that Americans keep their guard up, stay in some state of anxiety, and yet take it all in stride. He told reporters he did not want Americans to cancel their Christmas holiday plans but he also did not want them to relax unduly. I am sure he realizes the contradiction.

Ridge worries that the further away people get from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the more they may seek to put the whole nightmare behind them.

"Unfortunately we cannot do that", he said. "We are a nation at war. We are the targets of enemies who have demonstrated they have no remorse about killing thousands of innocent civilians."

Ridge said the information regarding a potential new attack does not point to a specific target or a particular type of attack. But he said intelligence concerning the level of the threats impelled the FBI to issue warnings to 18,000 state and local law enforcement agencies around the country. He also alerted the nation's governors in a conference call.

Officials suggested that the threat could be tied to the end of Ramadan, the 30-day Islamic fasting period, around Dec. 16.

Some officials feel the alerts are useless and only cause apprehension without any specifics. Gov. Gray Davis of California issued his own warning Nov. 1 that terrorists may be targeting the state's four suspension bridges. Fortunately, that did not happen. But Davis took a lot of flak for his alarm.

The Bush administration's heads-up warnings are designed to prevent complacency. But if they go on too long and come up too often, they may evoke total skepticism and deliberate disregard.

White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said that for self-protection, Americans should look for anything unusual in their neighborhood, be suspicious of unidentified trucks and vans and be more wary of strangers.

Ridge acknowledged that it would be better if he could reveal more specifics rather than creating the potential for panic with dire warnings of the unknown.

But that is not possible since those in command are also in the dark even though they have access to the National Security Agency, which can tune in on telephone conversations around the world, and to the FBI and the CIA. This administration has given those two investigative agencies much wider authority to breach individual privacy.

Some 1,200 Middle Eastern immigrants, including students, have been rounded up in the investigation, and some 5,000 others are being invited by letter to "voluntarily" show up for interviews. If they don't, FBI agents may knock on their doors.

At the same time, President Bush and others have gone out of their way to preach tolerance of Islam in this time of crisis. But it's undoubtedly a nerve-wracking time for Muslims in America. Attorney General John Ashcroft said Thursday that 563 men, many of them from the Middle East, are in custody for immigration violations and other non-terrorist charges.

Americans are going along, as they must, and accepting the vicissitudes of their new environment and the obstacles they face. The airports, with heavy security and armed guards, are busy but not as crowded as they were before Sept. 11.

Egged on by the administration, Christmas shoppers are out in droves, but the recession is forcing the once-free-spending Americans to think twice before they splurge.

Administration officials undoubtedly feel they have done their duty in putting us on alert. If there is another catastrophe, they can always point to their warnings, nebulous as they are. But it would be a big help if, as more details turn up, they would keep us informed.

Otherwise, the only thing we will continue to fear is fear itself.