'These Tapes Are Always Propaganda'
Chertoff calls bin Laden tape propaganda, says focus remains on al Qaeda.
Sept. 7, 2007 — -- While federal officials are not raising the terror threat level in response to the newly released Osama bin Laden videotaped message -- the first such message in nearly three years -- they are considering new regulations for private planes from Europe and small boats.
"We're very focused now on private planes coming from Europe and Asia. We're on the verge of putting out some new regulations to secure us against threats from that arena," Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told ABC News' Pierre Thomas. "We're looking at small boats, which would be another way of threatening our ports, aside from the container ships that we've talked about so much."
But the security effort has more to do with a potentially stronger al Qaeda than the latest bin Laden message.
"I think that these tapes are always propaganda," Chertoff said. "They're designed to affect how Americans feel and to influence us and to, frankly, terrorize us."
Chertoff said the government is taking no chances with the tape and is checking to see, "Is there a message in it? Is it a hidden message or an overt message?"
Without more specifics about a threat from al Qaeda, Chertoff said he did not plan to raise the threat level. Instead, he reiterated his warning that in recent months the nation has faced a heightened threat from a resurgent al Qaeda.
"They have done more recruiting of Western Europeans for terrorism. We saw some of the evidence of that in the German and the Danish plot. They have, at least until recently, had a pretty safe environment in certain parts of the frontier area of Pakistan in which they could train," Chertoff said. "They have reconstituted some of their leadership at a midlevel. So they've had opportunities to rebuild some of the capabilities that we've been degrading over the last few years."
Today the CIA issued a similar warning as Director Michael Hayden said, "Our analysts assess with high confidence that al Qaeda's central leadership is planning high impact plots against the U.S. homeland."
