Al-Qaida still No. 1 threat, officials say

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Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C., on Feb. 27 before the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on current and future worldwide threats.


Al-Qaida still No. 1 threat, officials say
By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Feb 27, 2008 14:33:18 EST

Al-Qaida has regenerated its central leadership over the past two years and regained the “core operational capabilities” needed to launch attacks within the U.S., the nation’s top intelligence official told the Senate Armed Services Committee today.

As such, al-Qaida, led by Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, remains the No. 1 terrorist threat to the U.S., said Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell.

“Al-Qaida is improving the last key aspect of its ability to attack the U.S.: The identification, training and positioning of operatives for an attack on the homeland,” McConnell said. “While increased security measures at home and abroad have caused al-Qaida to view the West, especially the U.S., as a harder target, we have seen an influx of new Western recruits into the tribal areas (of Pakistan) since mid-2006.”

McConnell would not elaborate afterward on whether those recruits include U.S. citizens.

McConnell testified that al-Qaida has been able to maintain a safe haven in what are formally known as Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), which abut Afghanistan and serve “as a staging area for al-Qaida’s attacks in support of the Taliban in Afghanistan as well as a location for training new terrorist operatives, for attacks in Pakistan, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and the United States.”


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/02/military_alqaida_threats_022708w/