Al Qaeda planning attack, Ridge says

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration warned again yesterday that Al Qaeda terrorists are "moving forward" with plans to attack the United States during the presidential campaign, but said authorities have no specific intelligence that this month's Democratic National Convention in Boston, or its Republican counterpart in New York, is a target.

"Credible reporting now indicates that Al Qaeda is moving forward with its plans to carry out a large-scale attack in the United States in an effort to disrupt our democratic process," Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said. "We live in serious times, and this is sobering information about those who wish to do us harm."

Ridge did not raise the national terror risk alert and said authorities have no specific information about the time, place, and nature of any planned attack. But he said he would visit Boston and New York to review security preparations.

Asked at an afternoon news briefing about the timing of the announcement -- which interrupted coverage of Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kerry's selection of John Edwards as his running mate -- White House spokesman Scott McClellan denied a political motive.

"We have an obligation, regardless of the time of year or what year we are in, to protect the American people and keep them informed about what we are doing to provide for their safety and security," McClellan said. "This is an update to the American people. And it is also important to update them on the protective measures that we have put in place . . . in certain areas of the country where terrorists might want to strike."

A senior intelligence official, briefing reporters after Ridge spoke, was also asked what new threat information came in since the last public warning. The official described daily "nuggets" that add to a growing body of knowledge about Al Qaeda's intentions and capabilities.

Ridge also announced the opening of a Homeland Security Operations Center, described as a 24-hour national nerve center for information sharing and incident response, as well as new programs to track the movements of high-risk trucks on US highways, monitor the perimeters of high-risk chemical plants, and issue hand-held radiation detectors to police.

Such measures, Ridge said, will help ensure security for the major party political conventions, each of which will concentrate much of the country's political leadership in one place. The Democratic convention is set for Boston's Flee Center from July 26 to 29, while the Republicans will have theirs in New York City's Madison Square Garden from Aug. 30 to Sept. 2.

"We are working very closely with state and local officials in New York and Boston," Ridge said. "I will soon travel to those sites myself to review the security measures being implemented."

Ridge and other national security officials have repeatedly warned that Al Qaeda may try to repeat its success in the March 2004 train bombings in Madrid, credited with swinging Spain's vote toward a party that pledged to pull its troops out of Iraq.

On May 26, just before Memorial Day weekend and the dedication of the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller held a similar news conference to warn about threats to the summer's national events. Ridge had issued a similar call for vigilance on April 19.

Yesterday, Ridge cited recent arrests of suspected Al Qaeda members in England, Jordan, and Italy as evidence that the group is active. He also said Homeland Security is focusing on the Boston and New York subway systems because terrorists have attacked rail lines in Madrid, Moscow, and Tokyo in recent years.

Both Boston's FleetCenter and New York's Madison Square Garden are adjacent to train stations.

"Clearly, given the particular venues that have been selected and the proximity to railroad and mass transit, that is of a concern, but we feel we can adequately address it," Ridge said. "One of the reasons we've been able to draw that conclusion is because of the extraordinary cooperation with state and local law enforcement."

The senior intelligence official told reporters that because Al Qaeda has had success overseas using truck bombs, the government suspects the group may try to use them on American bridges and tunnels. The network also remains interested in targeting planes, possibly for hijackings, as it did in the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, he said.

The US Secret Service is heading security for both conventions. Several transit security measures are on its list in Boston, including the closure of North Station and Interstate 93.

In Boston, Massachusetts Secretary of Public Safety Edward Flynn said officials have planned for the convention for the past 18 months, spending "thousands of hours and millions of dollars" on a security plan that will deploy thousands of police officers.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino stressed there is no specific intelligence "that pertains to the greater Boston area at all." And Boston Police Commissioner Kathleen O'Toole said federal and local officials are prepared for "every possible scenario" to ensure that the convention is safe.

"I think it's important that we do not overreact to reports," she said. "We have to be vigilant. We have to be concerned, of course. But I know we're very well prepared for this event."

In New York, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly also told reporters that the terror warning would not change security operations because the city already was on high alert.

In a statement, the Kerry campaign accused the Bush administration of failing to do enough to protect against another attack.

"Our crucial intelligence and military resources are overstretched abroad and our homeland security effort at home is underfunded and poorly managed," it said. "We need a serious effort and serious programs to protect our ports and trains, our chemical and nuclear plants, and other critical infrastructure resources."

Congressman Edward Markey, Democrat of Malden, said the threat information should persuade Congress to grant a bipartisan request by the New York and Massachusetts delegations for $50 million in federal security funding for the conventions. "A successful attack at either convention would be a devastating blow to the political process and to our country's collective psyche," he said.

Globe correspondent Heather Allen and Globe staff writers Glen Johnson and Shelley Murphy contributed to this report from Boston.