Terror plot report rejected

By Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawai'i officials are dismissing a published report that terrorists had specifically targeted nuclear submarines in Pearl Harbor in recent weeks.

Both Gov. Linda Lingle and the Hawai‘i National Guard, which is charged with the defense of the state, said intelligence reports that al-Qaida linked terrorists planned an attack were not credible. A story published today in the Washington Times quotes anonymous sources who supposedly said the threats were included in briefings in the last two weeks.

“There is no credible threat that specifically talks about that, that anybody has information that the terrorist organization has actually planned this,” said Maj. Charles Anthony, a spokes-man for the Hawai‘i National Guard.

“We receive updates all the time,” he added. “Our policy is we will not discuss what is in those updates, including one week ago, two weeks or three weeks ago.”

Conversely, any credible threat would prompt a public warning, he said. The Times reported terrorists planned to hijack airplanes from Honolulu International Airport and crash them into a ship or submarine docked at nearby Pearl Harbor.

“If I had believed at any time that there was any sort of a threat, regardless of how you want to describe it, we would have made adjustments in our alert status,” Lingle said today.

Even when the nation’s threat level was raised last month to orange, Hawai‘i officials kept the state’s threat level at blue, a lower status, Lingle said. The national threat level has since been lowered a degree, to yellow.

“We’re in constant and integrated touch throughout the state of Hawai‘i on any threat to the people or visitors in our state and without commenting on that specifically I can tell you that if there was any sort of a threat to our people we would not have left our level at blue as we did,” Lingle said.

“We left it at blue because there was no credible threat to the people of Hawai‘i and that remains today.”

Anthony said the Guard’s F-15 fighter jets are prepared to defend the state against a possible terrorist attack.

“We always have aircraft on alert, ready to launch at a moment’s notice,” he said.

A spokesman for Adm. Thomas Fargo, commander of U.S. military forces in the Pacific, yesterday had no comment about the report.

“I have no information about what's being reported in the Washington Times,” said Navy Capt. John Singley.

Military bases on O‘ahu today are at force protection level “bravo” or higher, meaning an increased and more predictable threat of terrorist activity exists.

Steps required during “bravo” include examining all mail for bombs and checks of visitors’ hand-carried items.

Advertiser staff writer Zenaida Serrano Espanol and William Cole contributed to this report.