CIA chief: Al-Qaida at weakest since 9/11
Source: Agencies |
June 28, 2010, Monday
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CIA Director Leon Panetta said yesterday that al-Qaida is probably at its weakest since the September 11 attacks because of United States-led strikes, with only 50 to 100 militants operating inside Afghanistan and the rest hiding along Pakistan's mountainous western border region.
Panetta said the US hasn't had good intelligence on Osama bin Laden's whereabouts for years and that the terrorist network is finding smarter ways to try to attack the US.
Of greatest concern, he said, is al-Qaida's reliance on operatives without previous records or those living in the US
"We are engaged in the most aggressive operations in the history of the CIA in that part of the world, and the result is that we are disrupting their leadership," Panetta told ABC television's "This Week."
The rare assessment from the US spy chief comes as President Barack Obama builds up US forces in Afghanistan to prop up the government and prevent al-Qaida from returning.
About 98,000 US troops will be in Afghanistan by autumn.
Panetta initially said in the interview that the Taliban leadership was at its weakest point since the attacks of September 11, 2001, when it escaped from Afghanistan into Pakistan. He later corrected himself to say he was talking about al-Qaida.
On bin Laden, Panetta said he was hiding amid Pakistan's rough terrain with "tremendous security around him." "If we keep that pressure on, we think ultimately we can flush out bin Laden" and other al-Qaida leaders, he said.
Panetta defended CIA drone strikes in the region, saying that claims they violate international law are "dead wrong."
"We have a duty, we have a responsibility, to defend this country so that al-Qaida never conducts that kind of attack again," he said.
Panetta said the US hasn't had good intelligence on Osama bin Laden's whereabouts for years and that the terrorist network is finding smarter ways to try to attack the US.
Of greatest concern, he said, is al-Qaida's reliance on operatives without previous records or those living in the US
"We are engaged in the most aggressive operations in the history of the CIA in that part of the world, and the result is that we are disrupting their leadership," Panetta told ABC television's "This Week."
The rare assessment from the US spy chief comes as President Barack Obama builds up US forces in Afghanistan to prop up the government and prevent al-Qaida from returning.
About 98,000 US troops will be in Afghanistan by autumn.
Panetta initially said in the interview that the Taliban leadership was at its weakest point since the attacks of September 11, 2001, when it escaped from Afghanistan into Pakistan. He later corrected himself to say he was talking about al-Qaida.
On bin Laden, Panetta said he was hiding amid Pakistan's rough terrain with "tremendous security around him." "If we keep that pressure on, we think ultimately we can flush out bin Laden" and other al-Qaida leaders, he said.
Panetta defended CIA drone strikes in the region, saying that claims they violate international law are "dead wrong."
"We have a duty, we have a responsibility, to defend this country so that al-Qaida never conducts that kind of attack again," he said.
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