The threat of terrorist attacks on financial institutions including the World Bank and IMF remains high in the wake of additional intelligence by Homeland Security to local authorities on Monday, according to a senior official in the Washington DC government.
"We had a secret-level conference call with intelligence agencies [on Monday]. At that time we received additional credible information about the threat to financial institutions," says Barbara Childs-Pair, director of DC's Emergency Management Agency (EMA).
This new intelligence does not suggest that the nature of the threat has changed from August when Homeland Security initially delivered a warning. "This is additional intelligence on the same threat," she says, adding that there is no new intelligence suggesting that an attack would actually occur.
Childs-Pair declined to give further details of the new intelligence discussed during the classified conference call, but said that it had not led to an increase in the threat level currently at "code orange" - the second highest on a five point scale.
The IMF, however, denies the claim that the information received by EMA is new: "I'm well aware of the details of that call but there is absolutely no fresh information on the threat whatsoever," says a Fund spokesman. "That information was simply what was put out when we went to code orange in August."
Officials from the IMF and World Bank have been attending regular meetings with Homeland Security, the FBI, CIA and local authorities such as EMA on security for the Annual Meetings.
Tom Ridge, Homeland Security secretary, said on August 1 that he had reason to believe that terrorists are plotting car or truck bomb attacks on targets including the World Bank and the IMF, although that intelligence did not indicate a time-frame.
Homeland Security yesterday reaffirmed that they had no new intelligence that a threat would occur. "The threat remains the same as indicated by the Department of Homeland Security on August 1," says Katy Mynster, spokesperson for Homeland Security. "We do not have any additional information suggesting an attack will occur."
Even so, local authorities are taking necessary precautions. Streets will be closed to all automobile traffic beginning today across a large area of downtown Washington while pedestrians will be allowed access to certain areas only with appropriate identification. Parking garages in the area will be emptied of vehicles.
"We probably have the safest city in the world," says Childs-Pair. "I'm very confident that this will be the safest Annual Meeting yet."
But she adds: "I don't think there is any place you can guarantee 100% safety."