Rumsfeld visit terror alert(Australia)

[cal04]

ADELAIDE police are on high alert for possible terrorist attacks to coincide with a visit by United States Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Police say more than 500 officers will be stationed in central Adelaide from tomorrow, scouring rubbish bins and other potential places to conceal bombs. Mr Rumsfeld is expected to arrive in Adelaide on Thursday for the Australia-United States Ministerial Meeting (Ausmin), to be hosted by Defence Minister Robert Hill and Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer. Deputy US Secretary of State Bob Zoellick will also attend the two-day meeting.

South Australian assistant commissioner Gary Burns said police had been planning for the event for the past two months and were prepared for terrorist threats and mass demonstrations from protesters opposed to the war in Iraq. He said the recent terror arrests in Melbourne and Sydney, as well as yesterday's public transport shutdown in Brisbane after a hoax bomb threat, added another dimension to preparations for Ausmin. Mr Burns said there was no intelligence to suggest a terrorist threat in Adelaide, despite Mr Rumsfeld being one of the world's top terrorist targets. "We haven't had any specific threats," he said. "The national terror alert stays at medium. "Without going into specific details, there's a whole range of different tactics put in place (by police for Ausmin). "We'll be checking rubbish bins and potentials for bomb threats and it will range right through to protection of public property.

"The main thing for us is to make sure this conference is run and conducted safely and the people of Adelaide still have a safe environment." In addition to the 500 officers, there will be other security personnel, including Australian Federal Police and Mr Rumsfeld's security entourage. Mr Burns said police would also be vigilant towards protesters. A large protest is expected on the steps of Adelaide's Parliament House on Thursday. Protesters have also planned smaller gatherings at Parliament House tomorrow and at an Adelaide winery where Mr Rumsfeld is expected to have lunch on Thursday.

Mr Burns said police were in contact with protest groups but had no information on their plans. "Yes, we do expect there to be some protests, but the extent of the protests – that's the hard part to determine. You may get several hundred (protesters), you may get ten thousand," he said.
"We have to plan for what might occur and then scale down or scale
up from there. "We won't tolerate a protest that
turns violent or causes damage." Some of the city's busiest roads will be closed as early as tomorrow evening and will not reopen until Friday afternoon.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17256803%255E1702,00.html

[Ken Burch]

1. Maybe RUMMY was the "credible threat" that John Howard was talking about!

He does have access to WMD's, after all.

[Kindigger]

2. Rummy the nightcrawler

Someone call the Pentagon. I just woke up with an idea for reelin' in them terrists.

[rodeodance]

3. massive show of force from the police --seems to me.

[oscarmitre]

4. It's the biggest operation

I've seen. But I suspect that the feds are driving this.