Source: AP

Report: Al-Qaeda may use Iraqi network to attack U.S.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The terrorist network al-Qaeda will likely leverage its contacts and capabilities in Iraq to mount an attack on U.S. soil, according to a new National Intelligence Estimate on threats to the United States.
The declassified key findings, to be released publicly on Tuesday, were obtained in advance by The Associated Press.

The report lays out a range of dangers — from al-Qaeda to Lebanese Hezbollah to non-Muslim radical groups — that pose a "persistent and evolving threat" to the country over the next three years. As expected, however, the findings focus most of their attention on the gravest terror problem: Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.

The report makes clear that al-Qaeda in Iraq, which has not yet posed a direct threat to U.S. soil, could become a problem here.

"Of note," the analysts said, "we assess that al-Qaeda will probably seek to 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 the homeland."

<SNIP>

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-07-17-intelligence-estimate_N.htm?csp=34

Jump on the "Homeland" Express Coaster" today or else? (Buy a Ticket, stupid-It's not free and seating is limited--Watch for your discount tickets at any of these convenient locations...)

I'm sure my problem with coasters must be a "trust" issue, and that's not funny as it limits experience though it's an experience I know I can do without.

country we said it was when we invaded? Another one for the "Heckuva job" file...

If we had addressed AQ in Afghanistan and left Iraq alone, how different would this report be?

Nancy's the cotton candy - airy, sweetly spun, multiple flavors, and rots your teeth - but it doesn't come on a plate or in a box.

We were more than ten millions in the streets of the world saying that's what would happen if the bu$che junta was to launch the illegal invasion of Iraq to steal their oil; and that was way back in Jan. Feb. Mar. 2003!!

But, who cared what we thought?

Were those the "Analysts" who were laughing at us, and ignored us?

Or R they some kind of "new" Analysts?

does anyone believe even half of what they read anymore?

We continue to be their greatest recruiting tool.

the PNACers "final" takeover of the U.S. by staging a "false-flag" op.

Then what? Cheney declares Busche "Supreme Dictatortot" 'n suspends the '08 elections?

Then what? Plan "B" is on the march?

The last time al-Qaeda attacked they used their good friends and allies Saudi Arabia and Dubai. Their old ties haven't changed. In fact it would be easier now for al-Qaeda to attack the US through Saudi Arabia and Dubai because those countries own such much more of the US infrastructure now then before 9/11. Al-Qaeda doesn't need Iraq (except for recruitment) it still has Sadie Arabia and Dubai.

Isn't that why we are fighting them there so we don't have to fight them here?

Source: KATHERINE SHRADER and ANNE FLAHERTY, Associated Press Writers


WASHINGTON - The terrorist network Al-Qaida will likely leverage its contacts and capabilities in Iraq to mount an attack on U.S. soil, according to a new National Intelligence Estimate on threats to the United States.


The declassified key findings, to be released publicly on Tuesday, were obtained in advance by The Associated Press.

The report lays out a range of dangers — from al-Qaida to Lebanese Hezbollah to non-Muslim radical groups — that pose a "persistent and evolving threat" to the country over the next three years. As expected, however, the findings focus most of their attention on the gravest terror problem: Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network.

The report makes clear that al-Qaida in Iraq, which has not yet posed a direct threat to U.S. soil, could become a problem here.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070717/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_terror_threat

---

Interesting timing, eh? I like that it was declassified. I wonder who declassified it? Also, this looks like an attempt to keep the public connecting 9/11 and Iraq. They seem to be doing that alot lately.

and have been reported as actual fact despite the absurdity of the claims, and the contradictory logic it introduces into the neocons arguments for pax americana.

about the same as the threat to France?

What? Scandals? Where?!

More false flag Terror for the American Public.

America is dead. Long Live The New Freedom.

Freedom through Fear. Spirituality Through Shallow Escapism.

Meaning through Meaningless Materialism.

Joy through Lockstep Jingoism.

And everytime the Drunk, Criminal, Out Of Control Government hits the population across the face, we'll swear that they really do love us and Stand by Our Man.

This Is NOT America.

This Joke Isn't Funny Anymore.

And the Joke, Sadly is not only on us, it has BECOME us.

Keep that dog wagging. Gettin' mighty close to treason here, though nothing will be done about it. Someone (Ritter?) predicted the neocons will stage a(nother) terrorist attack inside the US.

(not you Blitzer)

I believe that it is real no matter what because AlQaida and other terrorist organizations simply do not like the USA. I also believe that I am going to go on with my life and not worry too much about it. One more thing I believe, just because there will always be a threat of terrorist attacks from inside the USA as well as from outside, there should be no stripping away of our rights and freedoms.

If there is any truth to this then the WOT has been an abysmal failure because we have made no headway 5 years, a trillion dollars and 3600 soldier's lives later. OBL is still out there making tapes, al Qaeda now has a presence in Iraq which it didn't have 5 years ago, and the Taliban is making a comeback. How can any of this be spun to the positive? I understand how they are going to try to use and spin this, but logically, it points to a massive failure.

terra terra

the Iraq war is a sham.
bush exploits terrorism to scare us into losing our freedoms.
God have mercy on us ALL.

God only helps those who help themselves....

We must "stay the course" in Iraq so the terrorists won't attack us here.

Terra, Terra, Terra. Be very afraid.

An honest press would cast an unflattering light on the inconsistency. Wish we had one.

to accept another catastrophic black oops.

But we wouldn't want to interfere with a sovereign nation now would we?
No need to worry the Pakistani ISI is on it. The know exactly what Al Qaeda
is up to since they have a history of hiring them.

:sarcasm:

"The report makes clear that al-Qaida in Iraq, which has not yet posed a direct threat to U.S. soil, could become a problem here."

what?? Al-Qaida in IRAQ?? it seems to me that this report is Iraq war support propaganda.
we certainly were not in Iraq on 9/11

...right out of the Cheney playbook.

I don't see how this could be an endorsement to continue on the same path when after four years there's been no progress. The reality is we've done nothing but create even more animosity against the US.

Bush has fertilized the terrorist and and they have bloomed.

check....

"fighting them there so they don't come here", also a failure -check

:mad:

<edit typo>

:banghead:

Every time Darth pops out of his hidey-hole it's to remind us that the reason there have been no terrorist attacks since 9/11 is because he and The Imbecile have been doing a "heckuva job" of protecting us.

Uh....ok. So, aside from this ludicrous display of fallacious reasoning (coorelation doesn't imply causality) I guess we have absolutely NOTHING to worry about, because if there IS another attack we can conclude that Darth & Co. have fallen down on the job and should be replaced by someone with a brain.

Oh, yeah...could these guys please start reading from the same script? The threat from al-Qaida is grave? I thought we'd "turned the corner" and they were in their "last throes." I thought things in Iraq were much improved (amusement parks and all, per Gen. Patraeus) we had'em "on the run". Which is it??

And they had to throw in the "non-Muslim terrorist groups" i.e. violent environmental groups. Sure! Now everyone can qualify as a terrorist. I just started reading, "Hitler's Justice: The Courts of the Third Reich" by Ingo Muller. This is what the Nazis did. ANYONE could be termed an enemy of the state (read: terrorist) just on the say-so of Bush Hitler.

Fscking Nazis!!! Bush, Cheney, Rove...the lot of 'em. :grr: :grr:

How can we possibly react to this report with a straight face when every Tom, Dick and Mohammed can come across our unsecured borders? If King George and his minions were interested in security more than oil, they wouldn't be stationing our U.S. border agents in Iraq.

story, the Republicans are praying for an attack to save Bush and their party. And you have to wonder if they're going to MIHOP or LIHOP this one.

Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- The terrorist network al Qaeda will likely leverage its contacts and capabilities in Iraq to mount an attack on U.S. soil, according to a new National Intelligence Estimate on threats to the U.S.

The declassified key findings, to be released publicly on Tuesday, were obtained in advance by the Associated Press.

The report lays out a range of dangers -- from al Qaeda to Lebanese Hezbollah to non-Muslim radical groups -- that pose a "persistent and evolving threat" to the country over the next three years. As expected, however, the findings focus most of their attention on the gravest terror problem: Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network.

The report makes clear that al Qaeda in Iraq, which has not yet posed a direct threat to U.S. soil, could become a problem here.

"Of note," the analysts said, "we assess that al Qaeda will probably seek to 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 the homeland."



Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118467398632368809.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

---

Heckuva job Bushie!

Here at home, then ? The GOP's logic has always been mobius-strip-like or as SteelyDan once put it Pretzel Logic.

Katy Lied. No, wait, that was Junior. }(

What's wrong with the Saudi and Pakistani contacts they already have in place?

Seems like a waste of resources to me.

You've committed the unpardonable sin of thinkging straight. You're now under suspicion by the NSA's crack (sic) bunghunter unit of wiretappin' thoughtwave-zappin' invest-i-gators. God hep us all.

It seems much more likely that, once the US gets tossed out of Iraq, non-Iraqi AQ in Iraq fighters will end up fighting US-backed Muslim governments elsewhere in the Middle East before they a) take language classes and b) get usable passports and c) try to enter the US to mount some plot.

- B

IF the story is true.

This is the NIA that was supposed to come out months ago, has been delayed and delayed; draft delivered to WH a while ago, now finally it is ready for the launch of the new "product"

I don't see how saying that AQ in Iraq is expected to launch attacks in the US fits with Rove's issue framing around the Iraq war. Presumably he would want to say that AQI is on the run, not that they are about to move stateside.

Also, how much actual influence does this particular discredited and lame duck White House have over what the 16 heads of intelligence might want to say on national security, especially given the scrutiny that these reports now get? I'd guess a lot less than, say, a year or two back.

- B

the next "surge" and staying there forever. It says that AQI really is a threat to us here, as opposed to, or in addition to, the "real" AQ based in Afghanistan/Pakistan. We must not draw down in Iraq and refocus on teh real AQ, because see here? AQi is the real AQ after all. We must stay and eradicate them there because they are building platforms from which to attack us here.

The tightrope they are walking with their competing disinformation campaigns is that they have to claim the surge is working, but not that it has worked. So it need to be ratcheted up a notch.

... shows a clear bias on the part of the journalist. We live in the United States, not "the homeland."

The word should be as verboten in responsible journalism as "pro-choice" and "pro-life" have become.

can pay off his VP office expenses.

Who cares they will do what they will do and so will we.

trying to get the butts who believed bush's and his monsters, before the start of the Iraq War. Because first) his approval is in the toilet. second) he wants to build up support for HIS WAR, and it is HIS WAR and nobody else's. Third) he is trying to build justification to attack Iran, he is starting his campaign of lies and scare tactics like he did before Iraq.

Every time I see "homeland" in an article I know it's pure propaganda.

that their training has been completed in Iraqi 'school of hard knocks'

snip
The FBI report, issued last week, says the smuggling organization "used to smuggle Mexicans, but decided to smuggle Iraqi or other Middle Eastern individuals because it was more lucrative." Each individual would be charged a fee of $20,000 to $25,000, according to the report.


snip

http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/07/fbi-iraqis-bein.html


$25,000 a pop !

Sounds like oil investment money could be behind that price tag.

Mexicans can only afford to pay a grand at best to cross the Rio .

That money is probably funneled from illegal workers already in the US.

Gotta' keep these reports under wraps for just the right moments.

Al-Qaeda has militants in Iraq ready and willing to
strike U.S. soil. Right.

If America withdraws from Iraq, those miltants will
follow us home and attack us. Check.

And so, we are fighting them over there so we don't
have to fight them over here. Got it.

But since when did Al-Qaeda have to go all the way
to Iraq to find militants willing to strike hated
America? AQ is shipping suicide bombers into Iraq
by the busload.

As if AQ NEEDS to go to Iraq to find somebody to attack the U.S. :eyes:

ANY organization would naturally prefer to employ somebody who has had some hands-on training to get a job done but the world sure knows it wasn't necessary on 9/11.

I say at least some of this recent terra news is designed to help some sagging poll numbers both in the WH and on the campaign trail.

Oh yes, we'll all be sure to keep running for our lives. :eyes: