Al-Qaida works to plant US operatives - AP

Al-Qaida works to plant US operatives

By KATHERINE SHRADER, Associated Press Writer
3 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Al-Qaida is stepping up its efforts to sneak
terror operatives into the United States and has acquired
most of the capabilities it needs to strike here, according
to a new U.S. intelligence assessment, The Associated
Press has learned.

The draft National Intelligence Estimate is expected to paint
an ever-more-worrisome portrait of al-Qaida's ability to use
its base along the Pakistan-Afghan border to launch and
inspire attacks against the United States over the next
several years.

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Among the key findings of the classified estimate, which is
still in draft form and must be approved by all 16 U.S. spy
agencies:

-snip-

• The terror group has been able to restore three of the
four key tools it would need to launch an attack on U.S.
soil: a safe haven in Pakistan's tribal areas, operational
lieutenants and senior leaders. It could not immediately
be learned what the missing fourth element is.

-snip-