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| Terror Networks |
| Al-Qaeda still planning a spectacular attack despite recent arrests |
| 2004-09-21 |
| U.S. intelligence agencies concluded recently that al Qaeda — fearing its credibility is on the line — is moving ahead with plans for a major, "spectacular" attack, despite disruptions of some operations by recent arrests in Britain and Pakistan. Officials said recent intelligence assessments of the group, which is blamed for the September 11 attacks, state that an attack is coming and that the danger will remain high until the Nov. 2 elections and last until Inauguration Day on Jan. 20. "They [al Qaeda] think their credibility is on the line because there hasn't been a major attack since 9/11," said one official familiar with intelligence reports on the group. A second official said: "There isn't reason to believe that the recent arrests have disrupted their plans." Authorities in Pakistan and Britain recently arrested key al Qaeda leaders, but the group uses tight "compartmentation" of its operations. The process, used by intelligence services, keeps information about operations within small "cells" of terrorists to protect secrecy. Thus, details of the possible attack remain murky, but analysts say it is planned to be bigger and deadlier than the September 11 attacks, which killed 3,000 people. Potential targets include the White House, Pentagon, U.S. Capitol and congressional buildings, as well as landmarks and business centers in New York, the officials said. The officials said that there is no specific information about targets. Intelligence officials say a key figure in al Qaeda's North American operations is Adnan Shukrijumah, who is being sought by the FBI for the past several years. One official said Shukrijumah recently was seen in Mexico and earlier had been in Canada near a university with a nuclear reactor, leading to concerns that he was seeking radioactive material for a radiological bomb. The Mexican newspaper Proceso, quoting Mexican officials, reported earlier this month that Shukrijumah was being sought in northeastern Mexico after being tracked to Sonora in August. Acting CIA Director John McLaughlin told a Senate hearing last month that al Qaeda's ability to keep its operations secret is a "strategic weapon." Mr. McLaughlin told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the group "compartments secrets down to a handful of people in a cave somewhere." "It's very well-documented in the 9/11 report how few people knew about that," he said Aug. 17. "They use secrecy as a strategic weapon. It's a strategic weapon for them because it asymmetrically works against us because we don't keep secrets very well." One major intelligence "break" was the arrest in June of Musaad Aruchi, who was captured in Karachi. Aruchi was a senior al Qaeda member who provided information that led to other key arrests within weeks. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #5 they're waiting for the start of the NHL season as decreed by Ayman....oh, wait, damn infidels! |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-09-21 8:04:30 PM |
| #4 Al Queda is waiting for Bin Laden's plan. Unfortunately he's a grease spot under a large pile of rocks beneath Tora Bora right now. |
| Posted by: RJ Schwarz 2004-09-21 8:02:50 PM |
| #3 Yes, well, I'm planning to lose all the weight I put on since I got sick, and take up running marathons. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2004-09-21 11:35:57 AM |
| #2 we don’t keep secrets very well D'oh! SHHHHHH!!!! |
| Posted by: PlanetDan 2004-09-21 8:42:41 AM |
| #1 I don't doubt AQ is planning attacks; but it is apparently very hard to put togther the people and resources to do it when you are wondering in the back of your mind if a Global Hawk or a MOAB isn't already on its way. And I believe that it will be some cop in Waco Texas, or some other small town stopping a vehicle for a violation of some kind that could well lead to unraveling any operation AQ may have in motion. AQ can't miss once. I really believe Bush et al has rocked Al Qaeda so badly, they may well never recover. And the problem for Bush, politically, is to keep the pressure on, else the Moose Limbs may take another crack at us civilians. |
| Posted by: badanov 2004-09-21 8:28:07 AM |