a bulletin sent Christmas Eve to about 18,000 police
organizations, the FBI said terrorists may use almanacs to assist with
target selection and pre-operational planning.
It urged officers to watch during searches, traffic stops and other
investigations for anyone carrying almanacs, especially if the books are
annotated in suspicious ways.
The practice of researching potential targets is consistent with known
methods of al-Qaida and other terrorist organizations that seek to maximize
the likelihood of operational success through careful planning, the FBI
wrote.
The Associated Press obtained a copy of the bulletin this week and verified
its authenticity.
For local law enforcement, it's just to help give them one more piece of
information to raise their suspicions, said David Heyman, a terrorism
expert for the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International
Studies. It helps make sure one more bad guy doesn't get away from a
traffic stop, maybe gives police a little bit more reason to follow up on
this.
The FBI noted that use of almanacs or maps may be innocent, the product
of legitimate recreational or commercial activities. But it warned that
when combined with suspicious behavior — such as apparent surveillance — a
person with an almanac may point to possible terrorist planning.
