Tony Overman/The Olympian
Gov. Gary Locke is flanked by legislators and state safety officials during Wednesday evening's press conference at the Capitol. Locke said that he had been assured by federal officials that no sites in Washington state were targeted by terrorists, following reports that photographs of the Space Needle and Grand Coulee Dam were found in Afghanistan.

No threat seen from Space Needle photo

Tourist-type shot found among al-Qaida items in Afghanistan

BRAD SHANNON, THE OLYMPIAN

OLYMPIA -- Washington state faces no credible terrorist threat despite reports Wednesday that a photo of Seattle's Space Needle was among the pictures of U.S. landmarks found in al-Qaida members' possession in Afghanistan, Gov. Gary Locke said.

In a hastily called news conference at the Capitol, Locke strongly contradicted reports by NBC News that the Space Needle and Grand Coulee Dam were actual targets of planned attacks by the al-Qaida network. The Los Angeles International Airport and U.S. Mint in Philadelphia also were alleged to be targets.

"I assure Washingtonians that our state is well prepared to prevent and respond to a terrorist attack," said Locke.

The governor said he had known about the photos of the Space Needle for a week but did not alert the public because he was advised there was no public threat. State officials did, however, notify the Federal Bureau of Investigation and made sure the FBI notified Seattle police, Locke said.

The governor also said he was assured the photos were of a "tourist" type and were not accompanied by any diagrams or information that might indicate an impending attack.

The Space Needle is not only a Northwest icon built for the World's Fair 40 years ago, it was feared to be the target of a rumored millennium bomb plot in late 1999. Those fears were fanned after the arrest of Algerian Ahmed Ressam as he tried to cross into the state as part of a bombing plot later discovered to have targeted Los Angeles International Airport.

But that threat was downplayed by both Locke and Gen. Timothy Lowenberg, who heads the state Military Department and represents all of the state National Guards around the country in dealings with the newly formed federal Office of Community Security.

"The photographs that were referred to earlier appear to be of a tourist quality, nothing having any intelligence value," Lowenberg said. "It's something that may have been obtained by theft of a computer or theft of photographs taken by someone else."

Lowenberg said his contacts with the White House and national command authorities found "there is no credible threat," but he refused to say if Grand Coulee on the Columbia River, one of the world's largest concrete structures, was involved.

It is "nothing we can discuss right now. Obviously this is an ongoing investigation for which the FBI is the domestic lead federal agency, and they are keeping us fully abreast of all developments," Lowenberg said.

"Anything they know as they get further into the investigation, the governor will know."

Brad Shannon, political editor for The Olympian, can be reached at 360-753-1688 and at shannonbrad@hotmail.com.

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