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Threat of terrorism overshadows political parties' summer bashes

By John Mintz
The Washington Post

JOSH REYNOLDS / AP A jogger passes a security checkpoint yesterday on the banks of the Charles River not far from Boston's FleetCenter, the site of next week's Democratic National Convention. Security concerns have Boston shutting down 40 miles of roadways.

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Unprecedented security arrangements have been made for the conventions in Boston and New York City, where authorities think the al-Qaida terrorism network may see an opportunity to disrupt and perhaps alter the outcome of the Nov. 2 election. But the planning extends to "symbolic events" such as Labor Day weekend and to Election Day.

"These events will bring to bear more protective measures than any in history, and while many of these measures can be seen, others like weapons-of-mass-destruction-detection equipment won't be seen," Homeland Security Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse said of precautions for the conventions.

The effort stems from intelligence officials' conclusion that al-Qaida and like-minded groups, buoyed by the March 11 train bombings in Madrid, Spain, and the electoral defeat of Spain's government days later, are determined to launch something similar in this country. They base their conclusion on classified intelligence that apparently includes electronic surveillance, but government officials said they have no specifics on the time or place of an attack and have not raised the color-coded threat index.

Secret Service in charge

Federal agents are inspecting sewers and welding shut manholes around the two convention centers and removing mailboxes and most trash cans. Coast Guard craft will survey waterways. Police officers will guard the ventilation systems of hotels where delegates stay, and dozens of emergency-response teams will wait in warehouses in case of chemical or biological attack.

The conventions Political parties hold national conventions every four years to nominate candidates for president and vice president and to approve the official party platform. Democratic National Convention When: July 26-29 Where: FleetCenter in Boston Who: 4,352 delegates and 611 alternates Republican National Convention When: Aug. 30-Sept. 2 Where: Madison Square Garden in New York City Who: 2,509 delegates and 2,344 alternates Sources: News services, Republican and Democratic conventions

In Boston, some major highways, bridges and tunnels will be closed, including one interstate just feet from the FleetCenter, where the Democratic convention will be held starting Monday to July 29. That has prompted city officials to urge downtown workers to stay home that week. Riders of the city's subways will be subject to random searches of their bags.

New York, where Republicans will gather at Madison Square Garden from Aug. 30 to Sept. 2, will be patrolled by more than 10,000 uniformed officers, and thousands of additional federal personnel on the streets, in the air and on the water.

Government officials also fear terrorists may avoid the security buildup and strike "soft" targets such as hotels or department stores — across town or across the country — during the conventions.

Homeland-security officials think New York is a more likely target than Boston because al-Qaida consistently has set its sights on that city and because terrorists are galvanized by the prospect of striking the nation's top political leadership, U.S. officials said.

While Bostonians are preparing for inconvenience during the Democratic convention, federal officials said they view the GOP convention as more challenging for security personnel.

Immense crowds of anti-Bush protesters — 250,000 to 1 million, organizers said — are expected in New York. City officials said the 10,000 officers on duty will be engaged in a delicate balancing act, trying to guard against a terrorist attack and civil disobedience, while guaranteeing the First Amendment rights of demonstrators and trying to minimize disruption to New Yorkers.

The conventions have been designated National Special Security Events, which gives the U.S. Secret Service the lead in coordinating security.

Authorities are not only increasing protection around possible targets. The FBI and the Homeland Security Department recently established the "2004 threat task force." The FBI is trying to develop sources by interviewing people in the Muslim community and is reviewing intelligence to try to connect it to the current threat. The bureau also is trying to locate seven suspected al-Qaida associates who it said have the ability or intent to harm the United States.

U.S. officials said the current intelligence warnings in some respects resemble threats picked up in December that led to the Dec. 21 imposition of an orange, or "high-risk," terror alert that lasted three weeks.

In Boston and New York, federal officials said they will so "harden" the FleetCenter and Madison Square Garden convention sites — by extending security perimeters for blocks around both buildings, strictly limiting access to credentialed people and other measures — that they doubt an attack could be mounted on the buildings.

Boston and New York will host the largest collection of bomb-sniffing dogs in history, officials said. Coast guard boats will ply their waters, including the Charles River, blocks away from the FleetCenter. Other teams will check delegate hotels for explosives, prompted by a May attack that killed the Chechen president and 13 others with bombs embedded earlier in a stadium reviewing stand.

Guards will be added at New Jersey chemical plants upwind of Manhattan and other facilities near both cities. Both regions will deploy medical-surveillance systems that require clinics to report sore throats and pharmacies to report drug sales, both possible early warnings of biological attacks.

Delegate hotels, the sites for many of the 2,000 parties scheduled during those weeks, are, for security purposes, almost extensions of the convention sites. Jimmy Chin, who chairs the New York Hotel Association's safety panel, said hotel security teams will work closely with law enforcers.

In Boston, complications

The security plans for the two conventions differ in some ways. Although New York plans to close a few streets around midtown Manhattan during the late afternoons and evenings, Boston will shut down 40 miles of roadways. One reason is the need to close Interstate 93, whose guardrails are 10 feet from the FleetCenter's walls. That led in part to decisions to close or place restrictions on other major the Tobin Bridge, the Sumner Tunnel from Logan International Airport and a small stretch of the Massachusetts Turnpike.

Boston officials said they must reduce traffic by half to avoid gridlock and are urging companies to allow employees to work from home. Hospitals are being urged to postpone nonemergency surgery, and tenants have been asked to delay apartment moves. Mayors of surrounding towns such as Somerville have threatened to bar overflow traffic if it ties up their streets.

"Yes, traffic will be slower than usual," Boston Mayor Thomas Menino said, "but I predict this city will work."

Boston is wrestling with an additional complication: A contract dispute between the city and its police union. The state's labor-management board voted unanimously yesterday to send the issue to immediate, expedited arbitration, where a ruling would be binding and cannot be appealed. But the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association immediately filed for an injunction and threatened to escalate pickets at convention events.

The panel assigned the independent arbitrator to report back with a contract by Thursday. The prospect of delegates facing pickets at convention events worried Democratic leaders. Those from California, Connecticut, Maine, Ohio and Tennessee said they doubted delegates from their states would defy protesting union members. Others said they believe the dispute will be resolved before delegates arrive.

The police are asking for a 17 percent pay increase over four years; the city's offer is 11.9 percent.

In New York, barely a blip

The Secret Service never proposed closing New York's Penn Station, which sits directly below Madison Square Garden, where the Republican convention will be held. It is the nation's busiest rail hub, with 425,000 passengers a day moving through on subway and rail lines to Long Island, New Jersey and elsewhere.

Instead, New York is using the size of its police force — 36,000 uniformed officers as opposed to Boston's 2,200 — to keep Penn Station open. Along with hundreds of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut state troopers, thousands of New York City police officers, many with trained sniffing dogs, will ride the rails day and night during the convention.

"Our greatest asset is our size, which gives us tremendous flexibility and visibility," said Paul Browne, the department's deputy commissioner of public information.

With hundreds of bridges, tunnels, tourist attractions and critical infrastructure sites to protect, the New York department is canceling days off during the convention. It doesn't help that the U.S. Open tennis tournament in Queens overlaps with the GOP gathering.

But New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg repeatedly has said the convention will register barely a blip in the city: "If you don't live or work in the ... [area near Madison Square Garden], you won't even know there's a convention in town."

U.S. officials said they fear terrorists may use protest rallies, either by hiding their activities while surrounded by protesters or blowing up crowds of demonstrators. Some anti-war groups have announced plans for "direct-action" protests that include trashing businesses such as Starbucks and Gap.

Despite complaints by the New York Civil Liberties Union, authorities said they likely will set up barricades to separate protesters from outsiders and search knapsacks and other bags carried by demonstrators.

Material from The Associated Press about the Boston union situation is included in this report.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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