Homeland Security

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QUESTION: Can I change the subject? Over the weekend, on Saturday, to be specific, you guys put out two -- well, one revised Travel Warning for Yemen and the other a Public Announcement for East Africa. In both of these warnings, it mentioned that you had -- the government had received information as yet -- I think it was the --

MR. BOUCHER: Not yet assessed or uncorroborated or something.

QUESTION: Right, for Djibouti and Yemen specifically. Have you guys determined yet whether these were credible -- or these are credible, this information is credible?

MR. BOUCHER: I don't think we have any further information on that at this point.

QUESTION: Okay. And then also there was a report in a newspaper in Trinidad on Sunday -- I asked about this earlier -- hope you know about it -- saying that you guys and the Brits believed that there was an Islamic group, some sort of extremist Islamic group plotting attacks in Trinidad and Tobago around December 22nd. You obviously know nothing about this one.

MR. BOUCHER: No, I don't. I'll have to check on it. I will. They're still looking into it, I'm told, from your questions earlier.

QUESTION: Is the US weighing in on whether Kenya should send evidence to Israel or conduct the investigation of the attacks completely inside Kenya?

MR. BOUCHER: At this point, we've been keeping in touch with both the Kenyans and the Israelis on the investigation. Our FBI legal attaché in Kenya is keeping in touch with the people down there. The United States is prepared to offer any assistance that might be needed, but I don't think we've had any requests.

As far as the specific issue of weighing in on the transfer of evidence or information, I don't think we've taken a position, but I'll have to double-check on that to make sure.

QUESTION: And on the same subject, an American woman and her green card-holding husband were held for quite a long time, rounded up in, I don't know, a broad wave of suspicion after the attacks. There was -- as I understand it, they were released and there was nothing found to be suspicious about them, was there?

MR. BOUCHER: Yeah, they were given back their travel documents and their plane tickets and they go about their business now as free individuals.

QUESTION: They were held for two days?

MR. BOUCHER: I don't know exactly how long, but something like that.

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QUESTION: Going back on the Kenya investigation, is the US prepared to say yet how strongly it believes there is an al-Qaida link to the attacks?

MR. BOUCHER: We're not at this point. We know that the al-Qaida organization is a global group that still has ties to terrorist groups in various parts of the world, but at this point I'm not able to give you any specific information about linkages to this act.

QUESTION: Has it been ruled out yet?

MR. BOUCHER: No.

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QUESTION: Thank you. Israel airport officials made a divert airline for the Ethiopian Airlines to land on the air force base last Sunday because of concern of lack of security in the capital city of Ethiopia. And I know there's airlines flight from east African capital city of Ethiopia direct flight to United States. Do you have any same concern on it?

MR. BOUCHER: I don't know anything about that. I've not seen anything. You'd have to check with the Federal Aviation Administration, I think, on that.

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QUESTION: I want to get your State Department reaction to the Kissinger-Mitchell commission which is about to look into both 9/11, its aftermath and such, and also the reports that there was a Pakistani doctor -- it's just come out today -- that treated Usama bin Laden, and he was detained and then released. This was over a year ago.

MR. BOUCHER: Pakistani doctors, bin Laden, I'm afraid I don't have anything on that, don't know anything about it.

As far as the Kissinger-Mitchell commission, it was a White House decision and it demonstrates incredible wisdom and perspicacity and vision, and we support it 100 percent. No, there's -- I don't have anything particular to say. It's an administration decision that obviously we support and we'll work with them in every respect.

QUESTION: Do you have anything to say about Prime Minister Howard's comments about preemptive action in the war on terrorism, although I know the White House has talked a little about it?

MR. BOUCHER: No, I don't.

QUESTION: It's been now over a month since the USAID official was murdered in Jordan and there still no -- appear to be no leads in the investigation. Is the United States still pleased with the work of the Jordanian authorities in tracking down this killer or killers?

MR. BOUCHER: I don't know how long these things take. Often they do take a lot of time and I'm sure they are trying to do as thorough and careful a job as possible. If we have anything to say we'll say it, but otherwise you should assume it's proceeding well.

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Thank you.
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