Americans can expect more terror warnings

? An FBI tip about a possible terrorist threat to the Orlando, Fla., water supply was so vague that officials did not know what contaminants to check for. They publicized the threat anyway.

“We didn’t want to be caught with our pants down,” said Lisa Akhavan, speaking for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Across the country, local officials are newly sensitive about sitting on information that could presage a terrorist attack, even when the leads are less than solid.

As a result, more public warnings will likely be issued, however vague, as authorities juggle intelligence that’s disturbing but frequently unreliable.

No one wants to face the criticism now being leveled at the Bush administration that it took insufficient action last summer when it heard the al-Qaida terrorist network was planning an attack that could include a hijacking.

Recent warnings have included threats against apartment buildings, banks, shopping malls even the Liberty Bell. Bush administration officials also have warned that some kind of terrorist attack is inevitable.

Striking the right balance will be tough, experts say. Too few warnings and officials will seem unprepared, incompetent or uncaring. Too many and the warnings will lose their punch.

“Information has to be researched before it’s released or else the government will sound like the boy who cried wolf,” said terrorism researcher Michael Scardaville of the Heritage Foundation think tank.

“If this happens every day, the American people are going to start to ignore it, so that when a real threat comes through, people are going to think nothing is going to happen.”