Region | Palestinian Territories
Al Qaida 'still poses terrorism threat to US'
Al Qaida still poses the gravest terrorism threat to the United States, and an emboldened Hezbollah is a growing danger, the US intelligence chief said on Thursday.
- AP
- Published: 00:00 January 13, 2007
Washington: Al Qaida still poses the gravest terrorism threat to the United States, and an emboldened Hezbollah is a growing danger, the US intelligence chief said on Thursday.
In his annual review of global threats, National Intelligence Director John Negroponte highlighted an increasingly worrisome posture of Hezbollah - backed by Iran and Syria - since its 34-day war with Israel in July and August.
"As a result of last summer's hostilities, Hezbollah's self-confidence and hostility toward the United States as a supporter of Israel could cause the group to increase its contingency planning against US interests," Negroponte told the Senate Intelligence Committee in written testimony.
His assessment depicted a more multifaceted terrorist threat than has been given in years past.
Negroponte also stressed the importance of Iraq. He said that the country finds itself at a "precarious juncture", and the Iraqi government needs to establish secular institutions that can bridge sectarian differences.
The flow of weapons and fighters from Iran and Syria in support of Shiites must be stemmed, he said, and Al Qaida in Iraq must be stopped, he said.
Al Qaida maintains active connections "that radiate outward from their leaders' secure hideout in Pakistan to affiliates throughout the Middle East, northern Africa and Europe", Negroponte said.
Conventional explosives remain the "most probable" means of attack from the terrorist group, but there also are reports that it is trying to obtain chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons, he said.
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