War notebook: U.S. plans to register Saudi visitors

WASHINGTON -- A program that requires registration of foreign visitors from some countries in the Middle East and North Africa is being expanded to include men from Saudi Arabia, a U.S. ally and the home country of 15 of the 19 Sept. 11 hijackers.

An Immigration and Naturalization Service memo obtained by the Associated Press directs immigration inspectors registering aliens to include men, ages 16 to 45, from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Yemen, starting Oct. 1.

A spokesman at the Saudi Embassy did not immediately return calls from the Associated Press.

Panel considers plans in case Congress attacked

A 15-member Continuity of Government Commission, a project backed by the Brookings Institution and the American Enterprise Institute, met for the first time Monday to discuss ways to mend the gaping hole that would be left should a catastrophe devastate the legislative branch.

The commission, created by the generally liberal Brookings and mostly conservative American Enterprise Institute, is not an official panel of the U.S. government. But it includes such prominent figures as former Sen. Alan Simpson, R-Wyo., and former White House counsel Lloyd Cutler.

A swarm of questions faces the group as it wades through the task of determining how most effectively to repair a gouged government: How should Congress replace members? Is a constitutional amendment in order? Who would determine when emergency measures would take effect?

Bail denied for three arrested in Baltimore

BALTIMORE -- Three immigrants were ordered held without bail Monday after the Immigration and Naturalization Service said they were being investigated for links to terrorism.

The FBI is examining two computers -- containing information on flight schools and regional and local airports -- found in the sparsely furnished Baltimore apartment where the men and three others were arrested Sept. 10, INS attorney Melody Brukiewa said.

Officers also found literature written in Arabic mentioning jihad, or holy war, and Islam.

Judge Lisa Dornell denied bail for the men pending an Oct. 7 hearing, saying: "There were items in that house that raise serious concerns."

Also . . .

PAKISTAN DETAINS 3: Acting on a tip from the FBI, Pakistani police and intelligence officials on Monday arrested three men on the outskirts of the city of Peshawar, in northwestern Pakistan, and began investigating them for possible links to al-Qaida, a senior police official said. The official said one of the men was Tunisian but did not release information about the others.

INTELLIGENCE SHARING: The Justice Department disclosed detailed plans Monday for funneling to U.S. intelligence agencies terrorism-related information about American citizens gleaned from wiretaps and grand jury testimony.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright