Al Qaeda Wants Wall Street

WASHINGTON – U.S. intelligence agencies are growing increasingly concerned that al Qaeda’s next target in the United States could be the heart of America’s economy – Wall Street. Counterterrorism officials told The Post last night that new terrorist “chatter,” picked up from intercepted phone calls and Internet chat rooms, indicates Islamic fanatics have Wall Street and other financial institutions in their cross hairs as part of a second terror attack inside America. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge and other Bush administration officials issued a high-profile warning last week. They said new intelligence information indicated that Osama bin Laden and his top deputies are personally involved in planning an attack inside the United States that could be timed before the November election. Ridge and U.S. officials say they are not aware of any specific plans. In an April 29 audio-taped message, someone purporting to be bin Laden said that “after the strike of the New York blessed days, thanks to God, their losses exceed a trillion dollars. Their budgets have been in deficits for the third year in a row.” Terrorism expert Rita Katz said in recent months she has seen an increase in literature on Web sites used by extremists from al Qaeda leaders urging talking about the need to hit economic targets. Full Story