Al-Qaeda trying to get WMDs
2007-10-09 20:00
Washington - Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network is still trying to acquire weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear and biological arms, a new White House report on homeland security said on Tuesday.
"We also must never lose sight of al-Qaeda's persistent desire for weapons of mass destruction, as the group continues to try to acquire and use chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear material," it said.
The report, which called for redoubled anti-terror co-ordination at all levels of government, said al-Qaeda remains "the most serious and dangerous manifestation" of threats against the United States.
Since the September 11 attacks of 2001, the US-led "war on terror" has deprived the group of its safe haven in Afghanistan and degraded its capacity to strike, the evaluation said.
Nevertheless, "the group has protected its top leadership, replenished operational lieutenants, and regenerated a safe haven in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas - core capabilities that would help facilitate another attack on the homeland".
The network, masterminded by the Saudi-born billionaire bin Laden, has proliferated into regional groups including an affiliate in Iraq that is "the only one known to have expressed a desire to attack us here".
"Moreover, although we have discovered only a handful of individuals in the United States with ties to al-Qaeda senior leadership, the group likely will intensify its efforts to place operatives here in the homeland."