Fox News is reporting it, quoting a "senior US official" saying the threat is "looking more and more like a goose chase."

It would be interesting to know what branch of government, or what department or agency this "senior official" hails from. Be that as it may, the more the counter terror folks dig into this threat, the less likely it appears to be genuine:

Federal authorities have been questioning all day the credibility of a tip from a previously reliable source that that Al Qaeda had planned to attack Washington or New York, putting though both cities on high alert.

But authorities have not been able to corroborate any of the information from the source.

"The threat is looking less and less credible," the official said, adding that the entire plot as outlined by the source "doesn't seem feasible."

"The time frame doesn't make sense for when these operatives would have been moving into position," the official said. "We are going back to the original source. The president will be briefed on it again in the morning, but people are questioning the credibility of this information at this time. Something is not adding up."

But officials say they won't rest until they review every last detail.

It wouldn't be the first time that an asset turned on the CIA and fed them false information. Recall the incident where several agency personnel were gunned down by a supposed informant during a meeting.

Nor is it beyond imagining that AQ knows the informant was working for the CIA and fed him a bogus tip. Anything is possible - including an actual attack may be launched.

By publicizing the terror threat, the government may indeed, have caused the attackers to abort the operation. But they have also made it less likely that the terrorists, if they are on American soil, will be captured.

I'll take that trade off anyday.