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Al-Qaida has revived, extended its influence, and has the capacity to carry out a spectacular strike similar to the September 11 attacks on America, one of the world's leading security thinktanks warned yesterday. ...snip... The warning came in the latest annual review of world affairs by the IISS. Its strategic survey paints a bleak picture of global security in the future and warned: · Iran could have a nuclear weapon by 2009 or 2010, though this remains the "worst-case prediction"; · the US suffered a loss of authority as a result of the failure to impose order in Iraq. "The...

In a recent interview, former CIA Director and FSM Advisory Board member R. James Woolsey asserts that terrorists have America in their crosshairs now more than ever.

“Ninety days at the most” as of July 30, 2007 is the timeline predicted by counterterrorism expert Juval Aviv for an “imminent al Qaeda attack on five to seven American cities simultaneously.” “I predict, based primarily on information that is floating in Europe and the Middle East, that an event is imminent and around the corner here in the United States. It could happen as soon as tomorrow, or it could happen in the next few months. Ninety days at the most,” said Mr. Aviv.

A new al Qaeda propaganda ad, headlined "Wait for the Big Surprise" and featuring a digitally altered photograph of President George Bush and Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf standing in front of a burning White House, was posted on the Internet today. The brief clip from al Qaeda's "as Sahab" propaganda arm juxtaposes the doctored photo of Bush and Musharraf along with previously seen images of al Qaeda's top leadership -- Osama bin Laden, Ayman al Zawahri and Adam Gadahn -- as well as a photo of an SUV in a motorcade. There is no additional information provided in the ad,...

As senior intelligence and law enforcement officials met again today in the White House Situation Room to deal with the "summer terror threat," a top terror commander said an attack was coming that would dwarf the failed bombings in London and Glasgow. Taliban military commander Mansour Dadullah, in an interview to be broadcast on ABC News' "World News With Charles Gibson," said the London attacks were "not enough" and that bigger attacks were coming. "You will, God willing, be witness to more attacks," he told a Pakistani journalist in an interview conducted just four days ago. Just last month, Dadullah...

Chertoff should take a deep breath The Montreal Gazette: Editorial Published: Friday, July 13, 2007 Perhaps Michael Chertoff should take an antacid. Certainly he should be careful what he says before he causes Canadians to need a Tylenol. The U.S. Homeland Security chief has been popping off about his suspicions, hunches and worries, but if he has facts to back up any of this, he's keeping those to himself. Chertoff told the Chicago Tribune this week that he has a "gut feeling" that the U.S. faces an increased risk of terror attack this summer. The next day, he said...

Friday, July 13, 2007 Washington, D.C. -- This week in Islamabad, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf ordered commandos to assault the Red Mosque after a six-day siege against well-armed Taliban-supporting militants. Less than 24 hours later, Ayman al-Zawahri, Osama bin Laden's apparent successor to the command of al Qaeda, issued his third "Jihadist Exhortation" of the month -- a new record. Meanwhile, here in Washington, more Republicans joined the "get out of Iraq" chorus as Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff described his "gut feeling" that a major terrorist event against us is in the offing. The next day President Bush christened...

WASHINGTON - Al-Qaida is stepping up its efforts to sneak terror operatives into the United States and has acquired most of the capabilities it needs to strike here, according to a new U.S. intelligence assessment, The Associated Press has learned. The draft National Intelligence Estimate is expected to paint an ever-more-worrisome portrait of al-Qaida's ability to use its base along the Pakistan-Afghan border to launch and inspire attacks, even as Bush administration officials say the U.S. is safer nearly six years into the war on terror. Among the key findings of the classified estimate, which is still in draft form...

More developments in connection with "Al Qaeda Cell in the U.S. Or On Its Way, According to New Intel," by Brian Ross for ABC News' The Blotter: Senior U.S. intelligence officials tell ABC News new intelligence suggests a small al Qaeda cell is on its way to the United States, or may already be here. The White House has convened an urgent multi-agency meeting for Thursday afternoon to deal with the new threat. Top intelligence and law enforcement officials have been told to assemble in the Situation Room to report on: -- what steps can be taken to minimize or...

Senior U.S. intelligence officials tell ABC News new intelligence from Afghanistan suggests a small al Qaeda cell is on its way to the United States, or may already be here. The White House has convened an urgent multi-agency meeting for Thursday afternoon to deal with the new threat. Top intelligence and law enforcement officials have been told to assemble in the Situation Room to report on: --what steps can be taken to minimize or counter the threat, --and what steps are being taken to harden security for government buildings and personnel. "It suggests they have information that the cell or...

Is our domestic counterterrorism effort failing, and if so why? We have not suffered an attack since September 11, which is obviously a critical indicator of success. Michael Chertoff, who heads the Department of Homeland Security, told George Stephanopoulos that he has no evidence of an impending attack on the territory of the United States. But news reports last week spoke of a secret warning by his department that al Qaeda is preparing a terror “spectacular” for this summer. As always, the trouble is that Michael Chertoff, like the rest of us, doesn’t now what he doesn’t know. When it...

A secret U.S. law enforcement report, prepared for the Department of Homeland Security, warns that al Qaeda is planning a terror "spectacular" this summer, according to a senior official with access to the document. U.S. officials have kept the information secret, and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said today on ABC News' "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" that the United States did not have "have any specific credible evidence that there's an attack focused on the United States at this point." As ABCNews.com reported, U.S. law enforcement officials received intelligence reports two weeks ago warning of terror attacks in Glasgow...