The White House Briefly Evacuated

With only 2 weeks to go before the Independent Day in the US., The US government has put itself on a higher alert amid mounting worries about additional terror attacks against the US.

The White House was evacuated for 15 minutes for the first time since the Sep. 11 attacks and two F16 fighter jets were dispatched as a small plane approached to the No-Fly Zone over the White House on Wednesday afternoon.

The U.S. Secret Service briefly evacuated the White House on Wednesday because of an aircraft circling the Washington, D.C., area, and safety measures were taken for President Bush.

The aircraft identified later as a Cessna left the Gardner Airport in Massachusetts for Rally, North Carolina. The plane is reported to have lost direction and entered into the No-Fly Zone. The US government forced the planed to land at the Richmond Airport in Virginia and investigate the pilot.

Meanwhile Chairman Alan Greenspan and other staff of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System(FRB) were evacuated earlier in the day when a mysterious thing was found in a garbage tray outside the FRB building. Police later figured out that it was not a dangerous material.

The FBI instructed its 56 chapters across the nation to step up their security posture in preparation for a possible terror attacks.

Local and federal police agencies are planning a massive security presence that could include installing a double fence around the National Mall and the grounds of the U.S. Capitol to screen hundreds of thousands of visitors expected to gather for the July 4 celebrations.

The US Transportation Department instructed foreign airlines to replace the cockpit door with an explosion proof door by Apr. 9, 2003. 1,912 foreign commercial planes are subject to this measure.

Meanwhile George Tenet, the Director of the CIA testified before the joint hearing of intelligence committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives. In his testimony, Tenet said that Osama Bin Laden seemed to have prepared for the Sep. 11 terror attacks since 1998.

Ki-Heung Han eligius@donga.com