Al-Qaeda ’ Vow to destroy USA!-article

Al-Qaeda ' Vow to destroy USA!😡
Last Updated: Tuesday, 17 July 2007, 22:30 GMT 23:30 UK

Al-Qaeda remains a threat despite US military efforts in Afghanistan

Al-Qaeda is intensifying its efforts to put operatives into the US and the nation is at a heightened risk of attack, a US intelligence report says.

Analysts warn the terror group may make use of the skills and contacts of battle-hardened militants from al-Qaeda in Iraq to strike on American soil.

Al-Qaeda's leaders have found a "safe haven" in Pakistani tribal areas which has allowed them to regroup, they add.

Officials say there is no specific terror threat in the US at present.

The release of the National Intelligence Estimate report follows leaks of a classified assessment last week.

That report said al-Qaeda's operating capabilities were at their strongest level since the 11 September 2001 attacks, despite a six-year campaign to dismantle the network.

Questioned by reporters last week, President George W Bush rejected the suggestion that al-Qaeda was back to its pre-9/11 strength, saying that was "simply not the case".

'Harder to strike'

Tuesday's declassified intelligence report warns that there will be a persistent risk to the US from terrorism over the next three years, concluding that the US is in a "heightened threat environment".

The US says it remains determined to capture or kill Bin Laden

The group is determined to acquire nuclear, biological and chemical weapons and "would not hesitate to use them if it develops what it deems is sufficient capability", according to the report.

Analysts assess that al-Qaeda "will probably seek to leverage the contacts and capabilities of al-Qaeda in Iraq, its most visible and capable affiliate and the only one known to have expressed a desire to attack the Homeland".

This association with militants in Iraq has also helped al-Qaeda to energise the wider Sunni extremist community, raise resources and recruit operatives, the report says.

However, increased efforts by US and international agencies mean militant groups view the US as a "harder target to strike" than at the time of the 9/11 attacks.

International allies

Frances Townsend, homeland security adviser to Mr Bush, told reporters that al-Qaeda was weaker than it would have been had it not been for US efforts since 2002.

But she said extremists were also gaining experience in other places, such as Pakistan and North Africa.

Intelligence officials say the "safe haven" of Pakistan's tribal areas allows the group to protect and regenerate its attack capability by shielding its top leadership and operational commanders.

Ike Skelton, Democratic chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said that with hindsight the US had erred when it turned its attention from Afghanistan and the hunt for Bin Laden to the Iraq war.

The NIE report warns of the risk that international co-operation may wane as the memory of the 9/11 attacks fades.

But Ms Townsend said the US was determined to work together with its allies around the world to combat the danger of extremism.

She added that tracking down al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden was still a "huge priority" for the US.

Analysts see a danger that home-grown terrorists, connected by increasingly radical internet sites, may strike in the US. However, they say this threat is not as great as in Europe.

Bin Laden says the Prophet Mohammed wished martyrdom

Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden has appeared in a video clip on a militant website, the first time he has been heard for more than a year.

But the clip, less than a minute long, is undated and correspondents say it may be re-run footage. Its authenticity also cannot be independently verified.

Osama Bin Laden is filmed outdoors in army fatigues and praises those who die in the name of "holy war".

The US Senate on Friday voted to double the reward on him to $50m (24.5m).

Escaped militant

The clip of the al-Qaeda leader features in a 40-minute video on a militant web site that carries the logo of al-Qaeda's media wing.

The video mainly shows fighters paying tribute to fellow militants killed in Afghanistan.

Ayman al-Zawahiri's messages are usually more specific

Bin Laden says: "The happy [man] is the one that God has chosen to be a martyr."

He says the Prophet Mohammed "wished upon himself this status".

The last Bin Laden message - an audio tape in July 2006 - referred to identifiable events, including the situation in Somalia.

However, BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner says this time he makes no reference to recent events, unlike his strategic adviser Ayman al-Zawahiri, whose frequent videos are far more specific.

The bulk of the new video pays tribute to dead militants.

The self-proclaimed leader of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, Mustafa Abu al-Yazeed, praises "courageous knights" who have answered the call "for the sake of God to kick out the occupier who has desecrated the pure soil of Afghanistan".

Another key figure identified on the video is Abu-Yahya al-Libbi, who escaped from US custody at the Bagram airbase in Afghanistan two years ago.

He says the Muslim world is "offering the best of its men and sacrificing the good of its sons... to protect its ideology".

On Friday, the US voted 87-1 to double the reward for the death or capture of Osama Bin Laden.

The vote came amid warnings that al-Qaeda had rebuilt its capacity to mount attacks and was trying to insert agents into the US.

Originally posted by: mermaid_QT

Is that a recent article andromeda? TFS.. was looking for a link..