Can we get the straight story on these computer disks containing photos and layouts of schools in the United States?

From: Talkingpointsmemo.com Blog

According to reports that ran yesterday, (Oct. 7th) the disks came from an "Iraqi insurgent captured in Baghdad last summer, (2003), [who] had allegedly downloaded floor plans of elementary and high schools in Florida, Oregon, Georgia, New Jersey, Michigan and California."

But this CNN report from late this morning says that Department of Homeland Security officials say "the material was associated with a person in Iraq, and it could not be established that this person had any ties to terrorism. He did have a connection to civic groups doing planning for schools in Iraq."

So the guy with the disks was involved in setting up schools in Iraq? Sounds a little less worrisome than finding them in Zarqawi's butler's knapsack, right? Did everyone get scammed again on this one?

And what's with the school plans being mainly from swing states?

[ed.note: Special note of thanks to sharp-eyed TPM reader AK]
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Note: Well yes and no, again. One of the sites was in San Diego, California which is certainly not a swing state, but is a heavily Republican city.

According to an article in the San Diego Union-Tribune: "There is no threat here," said a San Diego police lieutenant who spoke on condition of confidentiality because of the sensitive nature of such investigations. "When you've put out information month after month after month, the public thinks we're crying wolf.

"The context here is, a public source document put out by the U.S. Department of Education was found on a computer. Period. My concern would be if a particular school district, or a particular school, or a particular institution was targeted, which it has not been."
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The Beslan tragedy has led to increased attention toward possible terrorist activities directed at schools. From Jakarta, where many schools with international students were ordered to close early last Friday based on warnings from Australian and American intelligence information, to administrators at the State University System of Pennsylvania who expressed concerns about their systems readiness to deal with terrorist activities at high-impact sites such as the Wharton School, or Carnegie Mellon University.
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From the Web, the Constitutional Rights Foundation has a comprehensive link page about "America Responds to Terrorism" with URL links for parents, educators, and researchers addressing terrorism concerns.
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Terrorism, n: The use of force or violence against persons or property in violation of criminal laws for purposes of intimidation, coercion, or ransom.