"The Homeland Security Department [3] was surprised by the announcement Wednesday by Attorney General John Ashcroft [4] and FBI Director Robert Mueller [5] that a terrorist attack was increasingly likely in the coming months," reports Newsday. But Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge [6] called the threats "not the most disturbing that I have personally seen." Homeland Security officials believe the intelligence behind the warning "was not new or specific enough to merit an announcement," according to the Wall Street Journal [7]. The Journal attributes this contradiction to "turf battles that have emerged since Homeland Security was created... one year ago." The San Francisco Chronicle notes [8]: "with an election five months away and polls showing President Bush's approval ratings slipping... there was rampant speculation that politics had prompted the announcement."