The Hill News

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Friday that the decision to make this weekend’s possible terrorist threat public was meant to “enlist” the public as informants.

“There is an advantage of making it public: You enlist literally millions of eyes and ears,” Clinton said on CNBC. “We want people to get on with their daily lives, but keep their eyes open.”

Clinton pointed out that the May car bomb attempt by the so-called Times Square bomber was averted because a food vendor saw something suspicious and told a police officer.

“We obviously see a lot of threats,” Clinton said. “This one was specific, it was credible though unconfirmed. But we took it seriously.”

Department of Homeland Security press secretary Matt Chandler warned Friday that reports of terrorist threats surrounding the 10th anniversary of 9/11 would vary in credibility.

“[W]e take all threat reporting seriously, and we have ta! ken, and will continue to take all steps necessary to mitigate any threats that arise,” he said in a statement. “We continue to ask the American people to remain vigilant as we head into the weekend.”