A secret FBI report has cast doubt on al-Qa'ida's ability to stage another "spectacular" attack in the US, three and a half years after the 9/11 suicide hijackings and a year after the Madrid bombings, the network's only other major strike in the West.While the desire of the al-Qa'ida leadership to attack the US was "not in question", the report said, "their capability to do so is unclear, particularly in regard to 'spectacular' operations".
Contrary to statements by prosecutors and the FBI's own chief, Robert Mueller, the February report, obtained last week by ABC News, says the agency knows of no al-Qa'ida "sleeper" agents in the US.The leaked report emphasises that it is not only Britain which is having difficulty measuring the potential threat from international terrorism.
Recently President George W Bush said Osama bin Laden had contacted Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al-Qa'ida's chief associate in Iraq, to seek his help in planning attacks on the US.Although some analysts saw this as a sign of weakness on the al-Qa'ida leader's part, Mr Bush said: "Bin Laden's message is a telling reminder that al-Qa'ida still hopes to attack us on our own soil. Stopping him is the greatest challenge of our day." Cont.
No comments:
Post a Comment