Fear Propagation: Expect More Attacks Says Senator

[Manu]

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A senior U.S. lawmaker warned Tuesday that recent bombings in Southeast Asia and the Middle East may be "just the beginning" of a new wave of terrorism.

Sen. Richard Shelby, the ranking Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said intelligence officials are hearing "renewed signals" similar to those that preceded the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington.

"This is just the beginning, I believe, of more terrorist attacks -- not only in Indonesia, but elsewhere in the world," said Shelby, R-Alabama. "Everywhere, including the United States, will be at risk."

President Bush said Monday he assumed three recent attacks on Western targets were the work of al Qaeda, the group behind the September 11 attacks. He included the October 6 bombing of a French tanker off Yemen, attacks on U.S. troops in Kuwait since October 8 and the weekend bombings on the Indonesian island of Bali that killed scores of tourists.

The U.S. war in Afghanistan has deprived al Qaeda of its former sanctuary and damaged its central organization, but the group is still a threat to Americans and U.S. interests, Shelby told CNN's American Morning.

"We have dispersed them around the world, and a lot of these people will be acting on their own," he said. "But they're well-trained, and we better consider them very dangerous."

A letter attributed to al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, released Monday, praised the attacks in Yemen and Kuwait and warned more strikes on Western economic targets are coming.

There is a growing consensus that al Qaeda was involved in Saturday's attack on Bali, where at least 180 people were killed. The attack took place on the second anniversary of the bombing of the destroyer USS Cole in Yemen, which killed 17 U.S. sailors.

Indonesia is the world's largest Muslim nation, a sprawling southeast Asian archipelago of 231 million people. Indonesian authorities have long denied any terrorist groups were active in its territory, but Shelby said members of al Qaeda and other terrorist groups have taken shelter amid the 17,000 islands that make up the country.

"The government's got to stop being in denial," Shelby said. "They've got to face up to the fact that the terrorists are operating there, and it is a haven for some terrorist groups."

In addition to Saturday's attacks in Bali, Southeast Asia has seen several bombings in the past three weeks. They include an explosion Saturday outside the Philippine consulate in Manado, Indonesia; a grenade attack outside a U.S. Embassy warehouse in Jakarta; a bombing at a Philippine bus station that killed six people; and a blast at a bar in the southern Philippines that killed one U.S. Marine and three Filipinos.

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