Posted on 07/12/2007 3:57:37 AM PDT by Aussie Dasher
WASHINGTON — A new threat assessment from U.S. counterterrorism analysts says that Al Qaeda has used its safe haven along the Afghan-Pakistan border to restore its operating capabilities to a level unseen since the months before Sept. 11, 2001.
A counterterrorism official familiar with a five-page summary of the document — titled "Al Qaeda better positioned to strike the West" — called it a stark appraisal. The analysis will be part of a broader meeting at the White House on Thursday about an upcoming National Intelligence Estimate.
The official and others spoke to The Associated Press on condition they not be identified because the report remains classified.
The findings suggests that the network that launched the most devastating terror attack on U.S. soil has been able to regroup despite nearly six years of bombings, war and other tactics aimed at dismantling it.
The threat assessment focuses on the terror group's safe haven in Pakistan and makes a range of observations about the threat posed to the United States and its allies, officials said.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Pakistan
We have a choice, we either destroy them once and for all or we back up our bags from Afghanistan and Iraq and come home.
This report seems to make it clear we’ve been wasting our time, money and lives in Iraq when the threat was, and still is, in Afghanistan and Pakistan all along.
This can all be laid at the feet of Pakistan’s Musharref who would not clean up that area and would not permit anyone else to do it either. Now his own life is in jeopardy.
Pakistan is the most dangerous country on earth at the moment.
The threat is EVERYWHERE, which is why this is a global war on terror. Iraq is filled with AQ, and we are killing them and capturing them on a daily basis.
I think it is absurd to suggest that it is a waste of time and resource for going after terrorists in Iraq. Indeed, they were there, and our going there got more of them to go there, which of course was part of the strategy all along.
It is a long war and has always been identified as a long war.
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Hindsight of course but hard to argue. The conventional FR wisdom will reply that Iraq has become the killing field for the terrorists but logic tells us that had we focused on Afghanistan then that is where the battle would be.
Musharif has been walking a tightrope without a net since before 9.11; it's a wonder that he's still breathing. Our reluctance to go into Pakistan is grounded in a number of current and historical realities.
During the cold war India was an independent member of the Soviet orbit. In the 'enemy of my enemy is my friend' world we backed Pakistan.
Musharif is a genuine moderate in the muslim world. He is the dam holding back a radical Pakistan.
Pakistan is nuclear.
So is India.
How can you win... when the DBM, the Dem's and half the nation don't want to fight? How can you win when you simply call the enemy 'terrorists'... instead of the shock-troops of a worldwide, Islamic order?
But the pool of higher than average intelligent jihadists is drying up.
Sounds like the 1930s when Euro fascists in collusion with the Left were on the rise but no one wanted to fight...until.
It might take more than 9-11 to arouse the pleasure seeking self absorbed masses.
Yeah right... they're forced to use doctors in England. Al Qaeda is only a facet of the Islamist threat.
good post
The findings suggests that the network that launched the most devastating terror attack on U.S. soil has been able to regroup
And that attack cost 19 one-way plane tickets plus a few dollars for utility knives. The only way they could fail to be strong enough to do that again would be if they didn't even have 19 people left.
If that’s the average intelligence of a NHS doctor, I damn sure don’t want to get sick/hurt while visiting the UK.
The war in Iraq had/has its purposes, but it's naive to think that Iraq is keeping them from coming here to America. The very nature of terrorism is to attack soft targets, not take on the best army on earth in open battle. Pakistan is truly the most dangerous islamic country on earth, because they have nukes. They are also an extremist brand of islam, and hate the West as much as any of them. Our military commanders have been begging for the green light to go into Pakistan, because they know that's exactly where the biggest infestation of al Quaida lie, including their highest leadership. Pakistan is the proverbial 'head of the snake'.
I think Iraq has seen its day and served its purpose, we can't babysit them forever. It's time to move on to more strategically important places, like Iran and/or Pakistan. If we're waiting for America to get stronger and the enemy to get weaker before we march, it could be a long wait. And I think India would be very pleased to lend us a hand, (with intel, logistic, etc.), if we decided to make large incursions into Pak.
Thanks.
I agree that Iraq may be turning out to be a waste of time.
“Al Qaeda in Iraq” is a different entity than Al Qaeda — inspired by but not directly linked to the original, spawned by the invasion of Iraq.
From this report, it seems as though the real Al Qaeda is based exactly where we originally knew them to be — the Afghanistan and Pakistan border.
They not only utilize a 'safe haven'... they use the cover of a religion. Too many options have been given to them for our current strategy to have any lasting impact.
Have you seen the report? Do you agree with the characterization of it by the alleged "counterterrorism official" who appears to have only seen the five page summary? It is beyond me why people react to such reports believing that they are correct or comprehensive. Could this unknown official have a political agenda? Is he a political appointee or career bureaucrat? From the article:
"A counterterrorism official familiar with a five-page summary of the document — titled "Al Qaeda better positioned to strike the West" — called it a stark appraisal. The analysis will be part of a broader meeting at the White House on Thursday about an upcoming National Intelligence Estimate. The official and others spoke to The Associated Press on condition they not be identified because the report remains classified.
Pakistan has nuclear weapons. Pakistan has a population of 165 million. The government of Pakistan is our ally. What exactly do we hope to achieve with "large incursions" into the country and how long would they last?
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