Report says Al-Qaeda still aims to use weapons of mass destruction against U.S.

[darrels joy]

Report says Al-Qaeda still aims to use weapons of mass destruction against U.S.

By Joby Warrick
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 26, 2010; A02

When al-Qaeda's No. 2 leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, called off a planned chemical attack on New York's subway system in 2003, he offered a chilling explanation: The plot to unleash poison gas on New Yorkers was being dropped for "something better," Zawahiri said in a message intercepted by U.S. eavesdroppers.

The meaning of Zawahiri's cryptic threat remains unclear more than six years later, but a new report warns that al-Qaeda has not abandoned its goal of attacking the United States with a chemical, biological or even nuclear weapon.

The report, by a former senior CIA official who led the agency's hunt for weapons of mass destruction, portrays al-Qaeda's leaders as determined and patient, willing to wait for years to acquire the kind of weapons that could inflict widespread casualties.

The former official, Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, draws on his knowledge of classified case files to argue that al-Qaeda has been far more sophisticated in its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction than is commonly believed, pursuing parallel paths to acquiring weapons and forging alliances with groups that can offer resources and expertise.

"If Osama bin Laden and his lieutenants had been interested in . . . small-scale attacks, there is little doubt they could have done so now," Mowatt-Larssen writes in a report released Monday by the Harvard Kennedy School of Government's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.

The report comes as a panel on weapons of mass destruction appointed by Congress prepares to release a new assessment of the federal government's preparedness for such an attack. The review by the bipartisan Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism is particularly critical of the Obama administration's actions so far in hardening the country's defenses against bioterrorism, according to two former government officials who have seen drafts of the report.

The commission's initial report in December 2008 warned that a terrorist attack using weapons of mass destruction was likely by 2013.

Mowatt-Larssen, a 23-year CIA veteran, led the agency's internal task force on al-Qaeda and weapons of mass destruction after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and later was named director of intelligence and counterintelligence for the Energy Department. His report warns that bin Laden's threat to attack the West with weapons of mass destruction is not "empty rhetoric" but a top strategic goal for an organization that seeks the economic ruin of the United States and its allies to hasten the overthrow of pro-Western governments in the Islamic world.

He cites patterns in al-Qaeda's 15-year pursuit of weapons of mass destruction that reflect a deliberateness and sophistication in assembling the needed expertise and equipment. He describes how Zawahiri hired two scientists -- a Pakistani microbiologist sympathetic to al-Qaeda and a Malaysian army captain trained in the United States -- to work separately on efforts to build a biological weapons lab and acquire deadly strains of anthrax bacteria. Al-Qaeda achieved both goals before September 2001 but apparently had not successfully weaponized the anthrax spores when the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan forced the scientists to flee, Mowatt-Larssen said.

"This was far from run-of-the-mill terrorism," he said in an interview. "The program was highly compartmentalized, at the highest level of the organization. It was methodical, and it was professional."

Mowatt-Larssen said he has seen no evidence linking al-Qaeda's program with the anthrax attacks on U.S. politicians and news outlets in 2001.

Zawahiri's plan was aimed at mass casualties and "not just trying to scare people with a few letters," he said.

Evidence from al-Qaeda documents and interrogations suggests that terrorists leaders had settled on anthrax as the weapon of choice and believed that the tools for a major biological attack were within their grasp, the former CIA official said. Al-Qaeda remained interested in nuclear weapons as well but understood that the odds of success were much longer.

"They realized they needed a lucky break," Mowatt-Larssen said. "That meant buying or stealing fissile material or acquiring a stolen bomb."

Bush administration officials feared that bin Laden was close to obtaining nuclear weapons in 2003 after U.S. spies picked up a cryptic message by a Saudi affiliate of al-Qaeda referring to plans to obtain three stolen Russian nuclear devices. The intercepts prompted the U.S. and Saudi governments to go on alert and later led to an aggressive Saudi crackdown that resulted in the arrest or killing of dozens of suspected al-Qaeda associates.

After that, terrorists' chatter about a possible nuclear acquisition halted abruptly, but U.S. officials were never certain whether the plot was dismantled or simply pushed deeper underground.

"The crackdown was so successful," Mowatt-Larssen said, "that intelligence about the program basically dried up."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...502598_pf.html

[Boats]

I wonder just how strong organized they really are? Osama is getting alot of mileage on any terrorist issue good - bad - or ugly - or even if he was involved at all. He will say yes he was involved - just to keep the kettle brewing and his name recognition.

I think there are many today who are unhappy with the way the world is going. Some more radical than others. But now we flinch each and every time when something happens because you never know when they will unleash the all-mighty secret weapon - whatever it may be?

They like to stir up the US emotions and keep us off balance (fear) and the more they can make people insecure (fear) the more they win. It's a shame that our innocent days are gone and now the world is racked by security issues for all those who want to saber rattle.

Europe, Asia and the rest of world has a steady diet of trauma to deal with on a daily basis. Having so many of troops overseas in several different areas - spreads them too thin and should something big break out I can only hope they can deal with it. We are getting spread pretty thin - soon we won't be able to butter bread.

Terrorist will always be around they are gaining momentum each year. Getting more and more radicals to join with them - why not they figure - they have nothing now so why not join up - get a gun - get some food - and then meet Alaa when the time is right.

I want some peace and quiet but I'll be long gone and this crap will still be going on. Our President isn't helping things of late - Our government is at odds and can't function in behalf of its people. The only backbone we have is our troops - they always answer the door when someone comes knocking. We did this during our tours. It seems we were always on the move to go here and there whenever needed.

I love this country and its people but the way its going we won't many of them if we don't get this country on a positive keel. It seems the harder we go at it the further back we fall. We are still a world power - but for how long? We don't even make our own products any longer. Japan and China own most of our products.

Yes its a sad day for sure. Can we turn it around to something more positive? I sure hope so - these kids will be coming home after their tours and they will need jobs and want to raise a family. It's going to be really tuff on them. My kids are struggling today and most of the time they can't make it either. Our streets look like they've been in a war and there's no money to fix them. Our entire intra-structure in this country is worn out and needs upgrading if not total overhauls.

God Bless America - I mean that - I really mean that!