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Investigation: Freezing more suspect funds

SUMMARY:

The Treasury Department will soon add numerous bank accounts to its list of assets it will seek to freeze and close as part of a global effort to choke off funds to the al Qaeda terrorist organization, a senior Treasury Department official told CNN Monday.

Meanwhile, Americans should have a "heightened sense of awareness" in the wake of U.S.-led military strikes in Afghanistan but should not "panic" or alter their normal activities, Attorney General John Ashcroft said Monday.

Abdullah Mohammed Binladin, among the youngest of Osama bin Laden's 50 surviving siblings, reiterated his family's condemnation of the man suspected of orchestrating the September 11 attacks on the United States in an interview with The Boston Globe published on Sunday.

The massive task that confronts U.S. investigators in the aftermath of the attacks on New York and the Pentagon -- and the urgency of stopping future acts from being carried out -- is putting a new premium on the ability of federal, state and local officials to work together: It's prompting calls for improvement in a relationship that historically has been marked by friction and turf battles.

UPDATE:

Michelle Davis, chief spokeswoman for the Treasury Department, would not confirm the number of accounts to be added to Treasury's global freeze list but confirmed several had been turned over to the National Security Council for final scrutiny before being placed on the official government list. (Full story)

Ashcroft said federal law enforcement has been put on the highest level of alert, and more than 18,000 local law enforcement agencies and 27,000 corporate security managers across the country have been asked to consider whether stricter security measures might be necessary.

•  Summary   •  Update   •  Key questions   •  Who's who   •  Impact  CNN.COM SPECIAL REPORT  CNN NewsPass Video  Agencies reportedly got hijack tips in 1998  MORE STORIES Intelligence intercept led to Buffalo suspects Report cites warnings before 9/11  EXTRA INFORMATION Timeline: Who Knew What and When? Interactive: Terror Investigation Terror Warnings System Most wanted terrorists What looks suspicious? In-Depth: America Remembers In-Depth: Terror on Tape In-Depth: How prepared is your city?  RESOURCES On the Scene: Barbara Starr: Al Qaeda hunt expands? On the Scene: Peter Bergen: Getting al Qaeda to talk

He also said law enforcement agencies are in "regular communication" about security concerns with companies providing telecommunications, electricity, banking, oil and gas and information technology, as well as railroads and water service providers. (Full story)

Abdullah Mohammed Binladin, 35, has spent much of the last decade living in the Boston area earning a master's and doctoral degrees in law from Harvard University.

"Our name is being hijacked," he told the Globe in an interview at his Cambridge, Massachusetts, apartment. "It is a big family. There is a black sheep in every big family."

All 11 other Binladin relatives in the Boston area, Abdullah's nieces and nephews boarded a chartered Saudi jet and left Boston on September 19, he said, adding that most of the family uses the Binladin spelling. (Full story)

Much has been said since the attacks of the need to streamline the flow of communication and intelligence sharing among federal agencies, such as the FBI and the CIA. But some officials and analysts are also pointing to a need for greater collaboration vertically, among all levels of law enforcement -- federal, state, and local -- in order to better confront the new challenges posed by terrorists operating within the United States. (Full story)

KEY QUESTIONS:

How is law enforcement working globally to coordinate the investigation?

How will the expansion of law-enforcement powers affect Americans' civil liberties? Click here for more.

How are people identified as suspected terrorists communicating with each other? Click here for more.

How are law-enforcement authorities using technology such as encryption tools to hunt terrorists? Click here for more.

What groups are U.S. investigators focusing on, and what are their aims? Click here for more.

How would law-enforcement authorities go after financial assets of people identified as terrorists? Click here for more.

How did the September 11 attackers evade U.S. intelligence? Click here for more.

WHO'S WHO:

George W. Bush: U.S. president

Colin Powell: U.S. secretary of state Click here for more

Condoleezza Rice: National security adviser Click here for more

John Ashcroft: U.S. attorney general

Robert Mueller: FBI director Click here for more

George Tenet: CIA director. Click here for more

Osama bin Laden: U.S. authorities have named bin Laden, a wealthy Saudi exile living in Afghanistan, as the prime suspect in masterminding the September 11 attacks. Click here for more

IMPACT:

Information gained from the investigation could lead to fundamental changes in U.S. security and intelligence systems, as well as surveillance laws.