Al Qaeda's New Face Of Terror: American?

Top Counter-Terrorism Official At FBI Tells CBS News Next Attack On U.S. Could Be Carried Out By Americans

(CBS)  U.S. officials are increasingly worried that the next attack on America could be carried out by Americans trained in terror tactics inside al Qaeda's safe-haven in Pakistan, reports CBS News correspondent Bob Orr.

Arrests last month in Barcelona underline the fear. More than a dozen trained suicide bombers - many of them European citizens just back from Pakistan - were taken down as they prepared to launch attacks against transit systems in Spain and four neighboring countries.

"They've realized that if they want to operate successfully, they need to have people who look like us, act like us, and are very difficult to find," said Philip Mudd, a top counter-terrorism official at the FBI.

Is al Qaeda actively looking for American or Western recruits?

"Whether it's Americans or whether it's people who can launch from Europe, because they have visas or passports that allow them to travel to the United States, they are looking for people who can operate in the West," Mudd said.

In an exclusive interview with CBS News, Mudd said intelligence has tracked Western recruits to small training centers in Pakistan's rugged tribal region.

Many of the recruits are European citizens of Pakistani descent raised in London, Berlin, and Madrid - but drawn to the radical Islamic movement. And there have been a few Americans. Among them is convicted terrorist Jose Padilla, who grew up in Chicago, and Adam Gadahn from California, who is now a leading voice in al Qaeda's propaganda.

Unlike the large-military style camps al Qaeda used in Afghanistan before 9/11, the new training is being done in small groups, specifically tailored to Western recruits plotting strikes against Europe and the U.S.

"There is a different kind of person who is going to come to Western Europe, and they don't necessarily need paramilitary training; you might simply be talking about how do you build a small device that you could put in a back pack so you could take it on a train," Mudd said.

The transit bombers who hit London in 2005 were trained in Pakistan. So, too, were al Qaeda recruits arrested a year later in a plot to blow up passenger jets over the Atlantic.

But, officials warn the U.S. remains al Qaeda's top target.

"The purpose of the recruitment is to train people in weapons of mass destruction and then get them back into the United States," said Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell.

Understanding al Qaeda's new tactics offers a first line of defense. But the real security challenge, at the airport or the border, may be finding the terrorists - if they look like us.

[cands4]

I find Philip Mudd''s comments, "They''ve realized that if they want to operate successfully, they need to have people who look like us, act like us, and are very difficult to find," racist!

Seriously... I wish top counter-terrorism officials at the FBI would think before they comment...

[cheekygal-2009]

Terrorist and president of the United States are presently synonymous. Sad!

[liberalme]

Obama''''s answer to McCain-Train

McCain Train???

This train''s got no brakes--run em all down, women,. children the elderly--no matter we''ll "git" em all!!!

Peace?? Who wants peace when we can be in a never ending killing spree? What are we killing for? I ferget---legal? who cares?

"Ain''t" nuthin gonna stop this train of carnage--guilty or innocent--we gonna git em all--100 years?? No matter!

Yeah--right!

[joyous88]

Al Queda???

Amerika is the only real world terroist, thanks to GW Bush and his conservative criminals, and their immoral agenda. christians indeed!

who else continues to invade and threaten defenseless countries?

[lochlan-2009]

Be afraid, be VERY afraid. Terrorists are everywhere. They could be your neighbor, or your friend, maybe even a family member, your dog, or maybe it''s YOU!!! Let the witch, I mean commy, I mean terrorist hunt begin.


Maybe they''re in the White House and Senate already.

[ladyjaneg]

Posted by liberalme at 02:18 PM : Feb 12, 2008

Oh absolutely :)

[liberalme]

have a question that may seem a little bit silly, so please forgive, but... if you''''''''re not necessarily a conservative, and definitely not a liberal---what are you?

Posted by LadyJaneG at 01:57 PM : Feb 12, 2008



Confused

[ladyjaneg]

Thank you for answering and not yelling, sweetheart :)

[cbs_oliver]

I have a question that may seem a little bit silly, so please forgive, but... if you''''re not necessarily a conservative, and definitely not a liberal---what are you?

Posted by LadyJaneG at 01:57 PM : Feb 12, 2008

A conservative.

Actually, almost everyone is a conservative. Some are wishing to conserve fascist values and some are wishing to conserve communist values and some are wishing to conserve comic values.

But everybody wants to conserve something.

[ladyjaneg]

I have a question that may seem a little bit silly, so please forgive, but... if you''re not necessarily a conservative, and definitely not a liberal---what are you?

[liberalme]

Who are we to believe 911 wasn''t created by American terrorists?

With everything that was going on that day--perhaps to confuse oh say the air traffic controllers? Mask what was really going on opposed to "testing" planes flying into the WTC?

What really did happen to tower 7? It wasn''t hit by anything--yet it sort of "imploded"?

Lots of questions and information we aren''t given answers to.

Yep--terrorists are everywhere--and for the US to think we can "get them all" is sadly going to creat more unnecessary death and fail.

You have better luck shooting at fish in a lake.

[missingamerica]

I HATE being forced to accept the idea that an American would willingly work for Al Qaeda.

But when my nation''s leadership places more value in protecting what they view as "the right" of America''s businesses to offshore the livelihoods of America''s citizens than they do in protecting the American way of life, then how can I be surprised when any other American also attacks the American way of life?

They differ only in their methods!

[hillaryin08]

aaaaahhhhh (splash) That one I will call Hillary.

(flush) By By Hillary..........

[williamfold]

Terror attacks have been waged and are waging even today by Americans in America. Refer to Timothy McVae, Ted Kaczynski, Eric Harris, Dylan Kelbold, Cho Seung-Hui, and many others with more to come.

But if you sell terror as a foreign threat, then the sheeple will overlook what''s happening in their own backyard and focus on the foreign boogeymen and an endless war can continue for the profiteers. Maybe this is one reason businessmen shouldn''t be allowed to run the country.

[ladyjaneg]

Posted by j-whitman at 12:54 PM : Feb 12, 2008

That''s so sweet :) Have fun!!

[von_marko]

Obama just released his plan to stop terrorism..... As president he will. oh nevermind, he has no plan other than surrender.

[j-whitman]

LadyJane.... 70 here allready in Sacramento,,, I''ll talk to you later.. I''m taking my father out for breakfast..... Have fun

[ladyjaneg]

Posted by j-whitman at 12:48 PM : Feb 12, 2008

Lucky you, darling!! It''s absolutely freezing here!! We''re having yet another snowstorm--- about our 3rd in 2 weeks. I hope you''re enjoying your week so far darling!

[Netterz]

So lets elect a Muslim President, who refuses to place his hand on his heart, pledge our flag, belittles everything this country was founded on, who has been proported to have ties with some of the most radical muslim goups across the world. Al-qaeda has been training men and women for DECADES to destroy us. The hate for us, has a long history. I have grave reservations about the man being elected, for the very reasons above. First off, as I have said before, I no longer believe in being of either political party, because I don''t believe there is ANY difference, that most of them, will all lie, cheat and steal to climb over the back of the next one. They all talk of CHANGE. The only change I want to hear about, is giving our country BACK to the people who work hard and support it. Some one who believes in the Constitution, and will BUST A$$ to bring it back into the forefront, to stop the greed and bloodshed within politics. Stop changing my country, for people who fled there own lands, to come here, because our way was so great. We are WHO we are, because of the wise ways of our long forgotten fore-fathers. Now, to my point.. HOW can we be sure, that this man, named Barrack Hussien OBAMA, not be a well groomed, well hidden, Terrorist, sent here to infiltrate our Gov''t, to become President, to help take this country DOWN & OUT?

[j-whitman]

LadyJane,,,,, Good morning another warm day today here, how''s it around you ??