***FBI.gov: "Statement for the Record of Robert S. Mueller, III Director Federal Bureau of Investigation on War on Terrorism Before the Select Committee on Intelligence of the United States Senate Washington, D.C." (STATEMENT SNIPPET: "The al-Qaeda network will remain for the foreseeable future the most immediate and serious threat facing this country. Al-Qaeda is the most lethal of the groups associated with the Sunni jihadist cause, but it does not operate in a vacuum; many of the groups committed to international jihad -- including the Egyptian al-Gama'at al-Islamiyya, Lebanese 'Asbat al-Ansar, Somali al-Ittihad al-Islami, and Algerian Salafist Group for Call and Combat (GSPC) --- offer al-Qaeda varying degrees of support. * FBI investigations have revealed a widespread militant Islamic presence in the US. * We strongly suspect that several hundred of these extremists are linked to al-Qaeda. * The focus of their activities centers primarily on fundraising, recruitment, and training. Their support structure, however, is sufficiently well-developed that one or more groups could be ramped up by al-Qaeda to carry out operations in the US homeland. Despite the progress the US has made in disrupting the al-Qaeda network overseas and within our own country, the organization maintains the ability and the intent to inflict significant casualties in the US with little warning. * The greatest threat is from al-Qaeda cells in the US that we have not yet identified. The challenge of finding and rooting out al-Qaeda members once they have entered the US and have had time to establish themselves is our most serious intelligence and law enforcement challenge.") (February 11, 2003)
***CIA.gov: "DCI's Worldwide Threat Briefing (As Prepared for Delivery) The Worldwide Threat in 2003: Evolving Dangers in a Complex World" ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Mr. Chairman, as you know, the United States Government last week raised the terrorist threat level. We did so because of threat reporting from multiple sources with strong al-Qa'ida ties. The information we have points to plots aimed at targets on two fronts -- in the United States and on the Arabian Peninsula. It points to plots timed to occur as early as the end of the Hajj, which occurs late this week. And it points to plots that could include the use of a radiological dispersion device as well as poisons and chemicals. The intelligence is not idle chatter on the part of terrorists and their associates. It is the most specific we have seen, and it is consistent with both our knowledge of al-Qa'ida doctrine and our knowledge of plots this network -- and particularly its senior leadership -- has been working on for years.") (February 11, 2003)
***WASHINGTON TIMES.com: "ARRESTS OF THE AL QAEDA TERRORISTS DISRUPT PLANS FOR ATTACK" by Bill Gertz (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Mr. Tenet said more terrorist attacks are being planned by al Qaeda and that every captured al Qaeda member has confirmed that more strikes are planned. He noted that recent al Qaeda recordings threatening attacks on economic targets and U.S. allies were "unprecedented in their bluntness and urgency."") (February 4, 2003)
***CNN.com: "AL QAEDA TERROR STRATEGY TURNS TO ASSASSINATION" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Coalition intelligence sources tell CNN that al Qaeda plans to target Western diplomats and other public officials wherever it can.") (012203)