Bush defends terror-threat alert to minority journalists

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush on Friday defended the decision to issue terrorism warnings and tighten security in New York and Washington, saying "the threats we're dealing with are real" even though some of the intelligence on which the government acted was as much as four years old.

Bush said the government had an obligation to tell Americans about the threats, even though some have questioned whether the warnings were politically motivated to strengthen the president's image as commander in chief in an election year.

"When we find out intelligence that is real, that threatens people, I believe we have an obligation as government to share that with people," Bush told a convention of minority journalists. "What if we didn't share that with people and something was to happen? What would you write? What would you say?"

On Sunday, authorities elevated alert levels in New York, Washington and Newark, N.J., on the belief that terrorists might be plotting attacks on specific financial institutions. The intelligence behind the warnings - including hundreds of detailed surveillance photos, sketches and written documents - came from sources including a seized laptop and computer discs and from interviews after the mid-July arrest of a young Pakistani computer engineer, Mohammad Naeem Noor Khan.