Air plotters 'have no US links'
2008-02-28 15:44
Brighton - American intelligence officials have said the men accused of trying to blow up several airliners bound for the US had no obvious links to support networks in the United States but warned the greatest threat may be lurking within the United States.
Joseph Billy, the FBI's assistant director of counterterrorism, said on Wednesday there were three main levels of threat.
The top tier included traditional al-Qaeda cells whose newfound sanctuaries in Pakistan and elsewhere had led to renewed capabilities.
The other two tiers included al-Qaeda franchises and radicalised home-grown extremists inspired by al-Qaeda but with no formal links.
Unlike the September 11 terror attacks where hijackers had lived and trained in the United States, the trans-Atlantic plot appeared to have prevalent links in Britain and Pakistan.
"We were very hungry for information that could link them (the alleged airline plotters) to support networks in the US," Billy said at Britain's first national counterterrorism conference. "We did not see it ... Does that mean they don't exist? I'm not so sure of that."
Airline plot 'worrying'
The conference drew hundreds of British and international law enforcement officials, intelligence agents and lawyers.
The men accused of trying to blow up at least 10 US-bound airliners in 2006 are to appear in a London court in April - just one of many terrorism cases with international implications.
Billy called the airline plot "worrying" and said that US officials would have been caught unaware without British investigators who discovered the plan.
Britain and the US - strong allies in the Iraq war - face significant terror threats that show no sign of diminishment, Billy said.
Britain, home to 1.8 million Muslims - the majority of whom have Pakistani origins - saw two thwarted terror attacks in London and Scotland last summer, and the July 7 2005, suicide bombings that killed 52 people on London's transit system.
Billy said while some cells were gaining strength in Pakistan's lawless tribal areas, officials needed to look beyond Pakistan to areas such as North and East Africa where groups and individuals were finding fresh sanctuaries.
There was no intelligence to suggest terror groups were inching closer to developing biological, chemical or nuclear capabilities, Billy said.
Combating terrorism
"Getting to that point requires an infrastructure and investment," he said.
Billy painted a picture of counterterrorism operations of the future where involvement between the military, law enforcement and intelligence officials will be crucial.
"The old dichotomy of law enforcement and intelligence - and law enforcement and military - no longer applies," Billy said. "combating terrorism requires a combination of all these resources and not just within our borders."
- AP