Intelligence obtained on threats described targets in great detail

The government provided details Sunday of new intelligence it had obtained that led to the increased threat level against financial institutions, including several specific buildings.

A senior intelligence official described the details only on condition of anonymity. He said it was the most extraordinary detail he had seen in 24 years of intelligence work.

– The flow of pedestrians outside one building — 14 people per minute midweek on each side of the sidewalks, or 28 per minute.

– Information that some explosive materials may not be hot enough to melt the steel underpinnings of a building, and a reference to what materials might heat to 2,700 degrees.

– Suggestions for building reconnaissance, such as a window table at a nearby coffee shop.

– Details about specific security checkpoints inside buildings, including a tidbit that people turned left after passing one checkpoint.

– Places to make contact with building employees.

– Construction of some buildings that might prevent their collapse.

– Locations of police stations, fire departments, schools and hospitals in the vicinity of the targets.

– Changes in day-to-day security, including lessened security on Sundays and days when elevators don’t operate. (AP)

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/08/01/national1508EDT0546.DTL