The U.S. defense secretary says there is no such thing as a single solution to destroy al-Qaida, however the killing of its leader Osama bin Laden has crippled the crowd.
Leon Panetta said late Friday "the more successful we're at taking down people who represent their spiritual, ideological leadership, the greater our ability to weaken their threat to this country."
Panetta said he was certain the U.S. was safer because the death of bin Laden, who was killed on May 2 last year in a secret Navy SEAL operation in a walled-off compound inside the Pakistani garrison town of Abbottabad.
Robert Cardillo of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence made an analogous comment Friday, saying the possibility of an attack using chemical, biological, atomic or radiological weapons over a higher year is low.
However, other U.S. intelligence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity said Friday, while al-Qaida's core network will not be in a position to engaging in another mass-casualty attack at the scale of 9-11, 2001, the terrorist group's affiliates remain a threat.
The officials singled out al-Qaida's Yemeni offshoot as especially dangerous, saying it's gaining territory and followers, despite targeting by Yemeni and U.S. counterterrorist forces.Â
The anonymous officials also cited the specter of terrorism from so-called "lone wolves" who're inspired by al-Qaida and are intent on committing violence. They said attacks just like the shooting spree last month in France by an Islamic militant are difficult to counter.
The Washington Post reported Friday Pakistan's intelligence service believes it deserves credit for helping the U.S. locate bin Laden's hideout. The newspaper reported the unnamed officials say Pakistan intelligence gave the U.S. information, leading to the U.S. finding bin Laden's residence. Washington has disputed their claims.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Barack Obama has taken the extreme step of giving a television interview within the White House Situation Room about how he made the verdict to send the special forces to Pakistan to kill bin Laden. The placement Room is where the president and other top U.S. officials watched live video of the raid because it happened. The interview is scheduled to air on NBC May 2, the anniversary of the raid. NBC News President Steve Capus said the interview may be the "definitive account" of the operation. Â
The Ny Times said Friday Obama's concerted effort to "trumpet" the killing of bin Laden as "the central accomplishment" of his presidency places the U.S. leader, who's up for re-election this year, at the "unusual route of bragging about how he killed a guy."Â President Obama's campaign has released a video showing former president Bill Clinton praising Obama for making the decision to hold out the risky raid. Clinton also questions whether Mitt Romney would have made an identical decision.
From WhatNewsToday.net
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