, ..,s. Depa,rtmclit of H.

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Freedom ofInformanOD Ac.t Offic .
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Transportati<on
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JUL 14 :2009
FOrA Case Nom.ber: T'SA09,-0435
Mr. Robert MacLean
Dear Mr. MacLean:
This letter is in response to your Freedom oflnformation A,ct (FOrA) reques dated April 6., 2009,
to the Department of Homeland Security (DRS). DHS referred, your request and a three page
document to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for a direct response to you. 'You
have requested an ''unredacted copy ,of this July 6, 2003 Department of Homeland Security
, HS) AdVisory, title: P,otential Al-'Q:aeda .Hijacking Plot in the U.S. and broad.. Your request
has been processed. under the FOIA, 5 U.S.C. 552.
. s document has een reviewed and one page is bein.g released its e tire' ..
portions oftwo pages being .' "'thheld pursuant to Exe:mption.2 of the . OlA.. A more compi
explanation ofthis exemption is provided bel.ow_
Exemption 2 ofthe FOIA exempts from man,datory disclosure reco'Ids that are related. s.olely
to the internal personnel rules and practices of any ag"ency. The courts have interpreted the
exemption to encompass two distinct cate.gories of infonnatio.u: (1) internal matters 0'a
relatively trivial nature often referred to as "lo\v 2" information; and (2) more substantial
'internal matters, the disclosure of which would risk circumvention of a legal requirement-
often refe.rred to as "high 2" information.
We- have determined th,at certain portions of the requested records ,contain personnel rules
andlor internal practices of the tSA and" are pro.perly withheld from disclosure as 'low2'
infonnation. Exemption ulow protects from disclosure internal matters ofa relatively
trivial such as fue numbers, mail routing stamps, initials, data processing
brief references to pre ous communications, and 'other similar administrative markin.gsa
The fees incurred to .process your request do n ' exceed the mininluDl I' esh,old necessary for
,charge. and, therefore, there is no fee associated \\-"ith processing this reqne.s-l,
In, the event that .ou rna YIish to appeal this an administrative appeal may be made
in writing to Kimberly Waltoa Special Counselor 'Office ofthe S:pecial ,olIDselor Transportation
Sec'urity Administration, 601 South East Building, E7-121S, VA 20598-
6033. Your appe.al must be s'ubmitted witJli.n 60, ays from the date of this detennin,ation. It
should contain your FOIA request number and state, to the extent possible, the reasons why you
U.S. Office of Special Counsel supports former TSA Federal Air Marshal Robert MacLean, Al-Qaeda suicide hijack attack alert warning, emergency office briefings, immigration loophole, Transportation Security Administration, July 26, 2003, explosives, weapons camera equipment children's toys, Merit Systems Protection Board ( MSPB ), Carolyn Lerner, Jason Zuckerman, Hillary Clinton support, suicidal, U.S. East Coast, screening, visa, Department of State
U.S. Office of Special Counsel supports former TSA Federal Air Marshal Robert MacLean, Al-Qaeda suicide hijack attack alert warning, emergency office briefings, immigration loophole, Transportation Security Administration, July 26, 2003, explosives, weapons camera equipment children's toys, Merit Systems Protection Board ( MSPB ), Carolyn Lerner, Jason Zuckerman, Hillary Clinton support, suicidal, U.S. East Coast, screening, visa, Department of State
believe the initial determination should be reversed. In addition, the envelope in which the appeal
is mailed in should be prominently marked "FOlA Appeal." Please note that the Special
Counselor's determination of the appeal will be administratively finaL If you have any questions
pertaining to your request, please feel.free to contact the FOIA Office at 1-866-364-2872 or
locally at 571-227-2300.
Sincerely,
~ .
Kevin 1. Janet
FOlA Officer
Freedom of lnfonnation Act Office
Enclosure
www.tsa.gov
U.S. Office of Special Counsel supports former TSA Federal Air Marshal Robert MacLean, Al-Qaeda suicide hijack attack alert warning, emergency office briefings, immigration loophole, Transportation Security Administration, July 26, 2003, explosives, weapons camera equipment children's toys, Merit Systems Protection Board ( MSPB ), Carolyn Lerner, Jason Zuckerman, Hillary Clinton support, suicidal, U.S. East Coast, screening, visa, Department of State
U.S. Office of Special Counsel supports former TSA Federal Air Marshal Robert MacLean, Al-Qaeda suicide hijack attack alert warning, emergency office briefings, immigration loophole, Transportation Security Administration, July 26, 2003, explosives, weapons camera equipment children's toys, Merit Systems Protection Board ( MSPB ), Carolyn Lerner, Jason Zuckerman, Hillary Clinton support, suicidal, U.S. East Coast, screening, visa, Department of State
Advisory
Title: Potential Al-Qaeda Hijacking Plot in the U.S. and
Abroad
July 26, 2003

LIMIT'ED DISTRIB,UTION: Any release" dlsseml'nation or sharing of this docu.m,ent, or

any information contained, is not authorized w:ithout from the Department
of ,Homeland Security (D.HS). All requests for furtber dIssemJnation m,ust be
the DBS Information Management & Requirements DIvision ,(lMRD) at ,. or 62
OVERVIEW
AI-Qaeda continues to plan attacks against commercial aircraft in the United States -......_ abroad..
DETAILS
,AI-Qaeda plan'ners have primarily considered suicide hijackings and. bombings as the most
promising methods to de.stro'y aircraft in flight, as well as to strike ground tatgets. Cognizant of
changes in aviation security measure.s since September 11, 2001, AI-Qaeda is looking for new
ways to circumvent en.b.ancements in aviation security screening and tightening immigration
requirements. ,At least o:ne, of these attacks could be executed by the end ofthe .su.mmef 2003.
Attack venues may include the I nited, Kingdom, Italy Australia, or the East co,ast of the U eel
States due to the relatively h,igh. con.centration of military. an'd econo'mic targets.
The may plan to identify flights that traIlSited the target country, so that the hij,ackers
would not ne,ed visas for t.hose countries.
plan may invo1ve the use of five-man teams) each ofwmch would attempt to seize control of
a commercial aircraft either shortly after takeoff or shortly b'efore landing at a chosen airport
This type of operation. WQ,uld the need for flight-trained llijackers.
The hiJackers may try to calmpassengers and make them believe they were on a hostage" not
suicide mission. The hijackers may to use common items carried by travelers" such as
cameras, modified as \vea-pons
No equipment or operatives are known. to hav'e been deployed to COTI:duct the operations.
SUGGESTED ,PROTECTIVE MEASURES
.Airlines are reminded of their obligation to provid'e adequate security procedures at the airports
for all pass'engers especially those passengers transiting the U.S.. 'without visa. Airlines W111
identify to C'BP any Transit With Ollt sa (TWOV) passengers exhibi ting snspicious behavior.
s
U.S. Office of Special Counsel supports former TSA Federal Air Marshal Robert MacLean, Al-Qaeda suicide hijack attack alert warning, emergency office briefings, immigration loophole, Transportation Security Administration, July 26, 2003, explosives, weapons camera equipment children's toys, Merit Systems Protection Board ( MSPB ), Carolyn Lerner, Jason Zuckerman, Hillary Clinton support, suicidal, U.S. East Coast, screening, visa, Department of State
U.S. Office of Special Counsel supports former TSA Federal Air Marshal Robert MacLean, Al-Qaeda suicide hijack attack alert warning, emergency office briefings, immigration loophole, Transportation Security Administration, July 26, 2003, explosives, weapons camera equipment children's toys, Merit Systems Protection Board ( MSPB ), Carolyn Lerner, Jason Zuckerman, Hillary Clinton support, suicidal, U.S. East Coast, screening, visa, Department of State
Advisories rec.om.mend. the i.mmediate implementation of protective actions) including best
practices \vhen available. The Department of Homeland Security (D.HS) encourages recipients
of this advisory to .report information concerning suspicious or criminal activity to law
enforcement, the DRS Watc'h Op'eratio' Center or the Tran.s,portation Security Jut I-ligence
Service (TSIS) watch.office.
S.ENSITlVE SE'-""-"A''-#-'' (NFORJv1A IO'N
(Not Rel e to Media)
U.S. Office of Special Counsel supports former TSA Federal Air Marshal Robert MacLean, Al-Qaeda suicide hijack attack alert warning, emergency office briefings, immigration loophole, Transportation Security Administration, July 26, 2003, explosives, weapons camera equipment children's toys, Merit Systems Protection Board ( MSPB ), Carolyn Lerner, Jason Zuckerman, Hillary Clinton support, suicidal, U.S. East Coast, screening, visa, Department of State
U.S. Office of Special Counsel supports former TSA Federal Air Marshal Robert MacLean, Al-Qaeda suicide hijack attack alert warning, emergency office briefings, immigration loophole, Transportation Security Administration, July 26, 2003, explosives, weapons camera equipment children's toys, Merit Systems Protection Board ( MSPB ), Carolyn Lerner, Jason Zuckerman, Hillary Clinton support, suicidal, U.S. East Coast, screening, visa, Department of State
RMATION
.
The DRS Watch Operations Center or the TSIS \vatch office may be contacted at:
DHS Watch:

Phone:,
Email:
Phone-
Email: ov
2
DI-IS intends to update this advisory should it receive additional relevant infonn'ation" including
infohhati'on, p'rovided t() it by tlle ,user communitY. Base'd :on tbis notifioation, 'no chang.e to the
fromeland Security Advisory System (HSAS) level is anticipated; the current .I-ISAS level is
Y'ELLOW.

U.S. Office of Special Counsel supports former TSA Federal Air Marshal Robert MacLean, Al-Qaeda suicide hijack attack alert warning, emergency office briefings, immigration loophole, Transportation Security Administration, July 26, 2003, explosives, weapons camera equipment children's toys, Merit Systems Protection Board ( MSPB ), Carolyn Lerner, Jason Zuckerman, Hillary Clinton support, suicidal, U.S. East Coast, screening, visa, Department of State
U.S. Office of Special Counsel supports former TSA Federal Air Marshal Robert MacLean, Al-Qaeda suicide hijack attack alert warning, emergency office briefings, immigration loophole, Transportation Security Administration, July 26, 2003, explosives, weapons camera equipment children's toys, Merit Systems Protection Board ( MSPB ), Carolyn Lerner, Jason Zuckerman, Hillary Clinton support, suicidal, U.S. East Coast, screening, visa, Department of State