U.S. Security on Heightened Alert

Many cities have already been operating with heightened security since the Sept. 11 attacks, but officials warned of increased security needs after the United States attacked sites inside Afghanistan yesterday.

The FBI told law enforcement agencies yesterday to operate at “the highest level of vigilance and be prepared to respond to any act of terrorism or violence.”

Even before the attacks, intelligence officials had warned of additional terrorist strikes against the United States.

“The American people need to be alert — threats do remain,” White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said. “This is a war.”

As planned this morning, President Bush installed former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge as head of a new Office of Homeland Security.

Vice President Dick Cheney, who was scheduled to administer Ridge’s oath of office during the ceremony, has been relocated to an undisclosed, secure location. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas administered the oath instead.

On Capitol Hill, members of Congress were told not to wear their Congressional lapel pins when they are away from the facilities.

“There is a sense that this effort on the part of al-Qaida and the like is meant to attack American institutions and to that degree, as a member of Congress, you are a symbol and a representative of that,” Rep. John Sweeney (R-N.Y.) said.

Vigilance across the country

In New York, the police force is being augmented by 4,500 National Guard members, stationed across the city to guard sensitive areas.

Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said on CBS’s “Early Show” that officials are “going to be a lot more cautious right now, so if people see buildings evacuated or traffic stopped at checkpoints, they should realize we’re being extra careful because of the times we live in.”

Giuliani said buildings, bridges and tunnels will remain open unless there is a specific threat. One street next to the Grand Central train terminal was closed.

New York’s Columbus Day parade will continue as planned, although amid tightened security. The theme will be “Honoring America” instead of the usual display of Italian-American pride.

In Washington, police officers fanned out across the city to take their positions to protect 19 buildings over 40 city blocks near the Capitol. Security was also increased for some members of Congress.

One street in front of the State Department was closed until at least Tuesday, officials said, and other streets around the Capitol and White House have remained closed since the Sept. 11.

A spokesperson for Washington’s Metropolitan Transit Authority said the agency had increased personnel, but did not say if they were adding security. Trash cans and recycling receptacles were removed from Metro stations on Friday.

In other cities around the country, security remained high at sporting events and other public locations.

Barbara Hogan, a spokeswoman at Detroit’s Metro Airport, said the Federal Aviation Administration notified officials at 2 p.m. Sunday to put additional security in place. It all will be “behind the scenes” and not obvious to passengers, she told the Associated Press.

Some cities, however, were simply maintaining the higher security they had put into place since the Sept. 11 attacks.

“It’s kind of hard to go to too much of a higher level,” said Lucien Canton, director of San Francisco’s Office of Emergency Services.

Meanwhile, the Coast Guard mobilized its largest security force since World War II to secure special security zones surrounding such facilities as nuclear power plants and piers where oil is loaded and unloaded.