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| FBI director says 2nd major attack quite likely | |
| 2004-01-15 | |
| The F.B.I. director, Robert S. Mueller III, said on Wednesday that terrorists would "quite probably" strike the United States again and that Al Qaeda remained a major threat despite the lowering of the nation’s threat status last week. "Al Qaeda would very much relish another high-profile attack within the United States in which numerous U.S. citizens would be killed," Mr. Mueller told reporters at a luncheon meeting sponsored by The Christian Science Monitor. "We have disrupted their capability, but there are still persons out there who have that capability." The sobering assessment echoed comments that he and other officials like Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge have made in recent months. After three weeks of intense concerns about the threat of a hijacked airliner or other terrorist attack, the Bush administration lowered the threat level on Friday to yellow, or "elevated" status. But, Mr. Mueller said, "We are still in a position where we have substantial concern about an attack from Al Qaeda," based on intelligence from the United States and overseas. "We quite probably will at some point in time have another attack." Mr. Mueller said he saw reason for optimism because of improved sharing and analysis of intelligence, cooperation from allies and the captures of leading Qaeda figures. But much to the frustration of American officials, the two senior leaders of Al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden and his chief lieutenant, Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri, have eluded capture since the United States uprooted the Taliban from Afghanistan in 2001. Most intelligence officials say they believe that the two are hiding on the Afghan-Pakistani border. Mr. Mueller acknowledged that the remote terrain of Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan made it exceptionally difficult to hunt for Mr. bin Laden. "It’s somewhat like finding a needle in a haystack," he said. Even so, he added that American officials had made progress in pursuing Mr. bin Laden. "I am confident that we will find him," Mr. Mueller said.
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| Posted by:Dan Darling |