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Skriven 2007-07-17 23:31:00 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0707172) for Tue, 2007 Jul 17
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Fact Sheet: The Terrorist Threat to the U.S. Homeland
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For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary July 17, 2007

Fact Sheet: The Terrorist Threat to the U.S. Homeland What The
Administration Is Doing To Protect America From The Persistent, Evolving
Threat From Al-Qaeda

ÿÿWhite House News

ÿÿÿÿÿ DNI.gov: National Intelligence Estimate: The Terrorist Threat to the
US Homeland (7 pages, 171 kb, PDF) ÿÿÿÿÿ Press Briefing by White House
Homeland Security Advisor Fran Townsend ÿÿÿÿÿ In Focus: Homeland Security
ÿÿÿÿÿ In Focus: Renewal in Iraq

Today, The Director Of National Intelligence (DNI) Presented To The
President And Congress A National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) On The
Terrorist Threat To The U.S. Homeland.ÿ This NIE provides a broad,
strategic, and coordinated framework for understanding the terrorist threat
to the United States over the next three years.ÿ It provides the
Intelligence Community's baseline judgments in order to help policymakers
develop and prioritize the government's response.
  þ This NIE Reinforces The Seriousness Of The Terrorist Threat Against The
    Homeland.ÿ The NIE found the main terrorist threat to the United States
    comes from Islamic terrorist groups and cells, especially al-Qaeda.ÿ
    Their intent to attack the U.S. is undiminished, and they continue to
    adapt and improve their capabilities.
  þ The DNI Released Unclassified Key Judgments Of The NIE, Which Included
    Findings That:
      þ Increased worldwide counterterrorism efforts since 9/11 have
        constrained the ability of al-Qaeda to attack the U.S. again and
        have led terrorist groups to perceive the U.S. as a harder target
        to strike than it was on 9/11.ÿ
      þ Al-Qaeda has protected or regenerated three of the four key
        elements of homeland plotting: a safe haven in the Pakistan
        Federally Administered Tribal Area, operational lieutenants, and
        its top leadership.
      þ Al-Qaeda will leverage the contacts and capabilities of al-Qaeda in
        Iraq (AQI), its most visible and capable affiliate and the only one
        known to have expressed a desire to attack us here.

We Are Confronting The Threat From Al-Qaeda And Degrading Their
Capabilities

On 9/11, The President Resolved That We Would Go On The Offense Against Our
Enemies.ÿWe have built new institutions to better coordinate homeland
defense and intelligence collection, developed new tools to monitor and
track terrorists and their finances, and marshaled all national resources
to attack the terrorist enemies at war with us.ÿ

The United States And Our Allies Have Captured Or Killed Senior Al-Qaeda
Leaders And Disrupted Numerous Plots Against The United States And Our
Allies:
  þ Abd al-Hadi: Osama bin Laden tried to send Iraqi-born terrorist Abd
    al-Hadi al-Iraqi to Iraq.ÿ Abd al-Hadi had been a senior advisor to bin
    Laden and served as his top commander in Afghanistan.ÿ He also directed
    plots to assassinate those opposed to al-Qaeda, such as Pakistani
    President Pervez Musharraf and a Pakistani United Nations official.ÿ
    Abd al-Hadi never made it to Iraq.ÿ He was captured in late 2006.
  þ Passenger Airplane Plot: In January 2006, bin Laden warned the American
    people: "Operations are under preparation and you will see them on your
    own ground once they are finished."ÿ Seven months later, British
    authorities broke up the most ambitious known al-Qaeda threat related
    to the U.S. since the 9/11 attacks: a plot to blow up passenger
    airplanes flying to America.ÿ Our Intelligence Community believes that
    this plot was just two or three weeks away from execution.ÿ If it had
    been carried out, it could have rivaled 9/11 in death and destruction.
  þ Zarqawi: In January 2005, bin Laden tasked Abu Musab al-Zarqawi to form
    a cell to conduct terrorist attacks outside Iraq  with America as the
    number one priority.ÿ To help in this effort, bin Laden tasked one of
    his top operatives, Hamza Rabi'a, to send Zarqawi a briefing on
    al-Qaeda's external operations, including information about operations
    against the U.S.ÿ In December 2005, Rabi'a was killed in Pakistan.ÿ
    Several months after that, in June 2006, U.S. and Iraqi forces killed
    Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and killed or captured several of his top
    lieutenants, including his Baghdad chief of operations and his top
    bomb-maker.ÿ

We Remain On The Offense Against Terrorists Abroad, While We Defend Against
Attacks On The Homeland, U.S. Interests Abroad, And Our Friends And Allies.
  þ Constantly Evaluating The Threat: Every day, the U.S. government's
    intelligence, law enforcement, and homeland security communities review
    current threats and how to address them.ÿ Every week, senior
    counterterrorism officials meet at the White House to review the
    current and strategic threat and to organize efforts to wage the War on
    Terror.ÿ The President continues to receive regular al-Qaeda-related
    intelligence briefings and homeland security updates from his top
    Administration officials.
  þ Leveraging Resources Strategically: As we have done during other
    periods of heightened threat, we are focusing our resources
    strategically.ÿ In this case, we have established an Interagency Task
    Force under the leadership of the National Counterterrorism Center to
    develop additional options and measures for acquiring information and
    disrupting potential terrorist attacks on the U.S.ÿ The task force
    evaluates new intelligence and considers measures that may help disrupt
    the threat.ÿ The group regularly reports to White House officials and
    shares information with other counterterrorism elements.
  þ Adapting To The Threat: Homeland security and law enforcement agencies
    have been reviewing their current operations and are enhancing, where
    necessary, efforts to better respond to and address the heightened
    threat environment.ÿ
  þ Amplifying Our Cooperation With Key Allies: We are working with key
    partners to undermine al-Qaeda's attempts to access and co-opt regional
    networks for their own strategic purpose.
      þ In Pakistan, we continue to work with President Musharraf and the
        Government to capture key al-Qaeda operatives and pressure al-Qaeda
        and the Taliban in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.ÿ The
        Pakistanis understand the threat that al-Qaeda and violent
        extremism pose to their country, and we will continue to work with
        them to deny Pakistan as a safe haven for terrorists.
      þ In North Africa, we are working with our partners to counter
        al-Qaeda's expansion into the Maghreb  evident in the emergence of
        "al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb" (AQIM).ÿ This group has claimed
        responsibility for recent terrorist bombings in Algeria, including
        the April 11 and July 11 attacks against civilians in Algiers.
      þ In the Persian Gulf, we continue to strengthen efforts to dismantle
        terrorist cells, stem terrorist financing, and undercut the
        ideology used by al-Qaeda and its supporters to justify the murder
        of innocents.ÿ
      þ In Europe, we continue to build strong relationships to increase
        information sharing and counterterrorism cooperation while also
        building awareness of the nature of the threat and the challenges
        posed to Europe as terrorists exploit existing infrastructures to
        support their operations.ÿÿ
        ÿ
      þ We are looking at additional ways of disrupting al-Qaeda's network,
        including even more aggressively countering al-Qaeda's violent
        message and the group's attempts to exploit the grievances and
        suffering of local groups for its own benefit.

Since 9/11, America Is Safer  But We Are Not Yet Safe

Our Enemies Have Not Succeeded In Launching Another Attack On Our Soil, But
They Have Not Been Idle.ÿ Since 9/11, al-Qaeda and those inspired by its
hateful ideology have carried out terrorist attacks in more than two dozen
nations.ÿ They have plotted against the U.S. but have thus far not
succeeded in attacking us  in part because we have taken bold action at
home and abroad to keep our people safe.

We Remain Vigilant And Are Taking Necessary Steps To Protect The American
People.ÿ We have asked the American people to remain vigilant as well and
to report suspicious activity.ÿ

We Will Continue To Work With Congress To Ensure That We Have The Necessary
Tools And Resources To Protect The Homeland.ÿ This includes passing a
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Modernization bill that will
make America safer by improving our intelligence capabilities while
protecting privacy interests.ÿ This 1978 law should be updated to take into
account the sweeping telecommunications advances that could not have been
anticipated by Congress and that will allow the FISA Court and law
enforcement officials to concentrate attention and resources on appropriate
communications.

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