Former intelligence officer Glenn Carle tells Newsmax that putting the public on alert for a possible terrorist attack on the Fourth of July plays into the hands of the terrorists.
"Often ... we the intelligence services and the government, play into the hands of the terrorists who wish to terrorize and create fear," Carle told Ed Berliner on "MidPoint" on
Newsmax TV on Tuesday.
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"Most of the time, it's better that these groups and people be handled in silence and in the dark," he explained.
"The CIA, the FBI should always be vigilant, and there are dates that would lend a certain panache to an attack, such as the Fourth of July, when the services should be particularly attentive to any possibility of a threat, but engaging the public on that probably plays a bit into the hands of the people we wish to stop," he said.
"In the intelligence work, you don't want your enemy to know what you know and what you're doing," Carle told Newsmax.
"There are contradictory and equally valid objectives that the government needs to achieve to stop the terrorists, not to glorify them, not to bring them to public attention and yet to keep the public apprised and safe," he said.
"These things are often in conflict," he added.
Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said that local law enforcement has been told "to be vigilant and prepared" as the holiday weekend approaches after attacks in France, Tunisia and Kuwait.
In an appearance on "Fox News Sunday," House Homeland Security Chairman
Mike McCaul said that the warning should be heeded.
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