RALEIGH -- Three days before the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks in New York, a half dozen sport utility vehicles pulled onto the sidewalk alongside the city's downtown post office Wednesday morning. U.S. Federal Protective Services officers in dark blue uniforms and a German shepherd K-9 officer stepped onto the sidewalk.
Al-Qaida didn't appear to be in the vicinity, but the training exercise was intended to provide a show of protection, a security presence for anyone thinking about committing a terrorist act or crime on federal property. The group completed a series of exercises designed to provide a "visual and psychological deterrent" for any individual or terrorist group aiming to strike at the heart in the U.S. government in downtown Raleigh.
"It's called Operation Shield," said Michael Keegan, a spokesman with the Federal Protective Services headquartered in Washington.
