U.S. Tightens Airport Security

Jul 01, 12:06 PM

Current Headlines: U.S. airports and mass transit systems will tighten security in response to apparent terrorist incidents in Britain, the Bush administration said Saturday.

The United States, however, is not raising its terror alert status, President Bush's spokesman and the Homeland Security secretary said. "There is no indication of any specific or credible threat to the United States," Tony Snow told reporters.

Britain raised its security alert to the highest level possible, an indication that terrorist attacks are imminent.

Snow said the British government had notified the White House of that step in advance, and that it did not provoke any change in the threat assessment in the United States. "We constantly monitor and assess the situation, and adjust our posture as necessary," he said.

Still, U.S. officials were wary. Acting out of "an abundance of caution" during the upcoming Fourth of July holidays, Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff said the government is putting in place plans to increase security at airports, on mass transit and at transportation facilities.

"Some of these measures will be visible; others will not," Chertoff said in a statement.

At Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro on Saturday, there was no visible sign of added security measures.

Chertoff added that "at this point, I have seen no specific, credible information suggesting that this latest incident is connected to a threat to the homeland. We have no plans at this time to change the national threat level, although we remind everyone that the aviation threat level has been raised to orange since last fall."

Orange is No. 2 of five levels and indicates a high risk of terrorist attacks. The current national threat level is yellow, or the third highest, indicating an elevated threat.

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