New Terror Warnings Over Pakistan Border

CIA Chief, Taliban Agree: Al Qaeda Stronger Than Ever In Region; Threat To West Is Real

(CBS/AP)  CBS News' Sami Yousafzai in Peshawar, Pakistan contributed to this report.

---

The situation in the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan where al Qaeda has established a safe haven presents a "clear and present danger" to the West, the CIA director said Sunday.

Michael Hayden cited the belief by intelligence agencies that Osama bin Laden is hiding there in arguing that the U.S. has an interest in targeting the border region. If there were another terrorist attack against Americans, Hayden said, it would most certainly originate from that region.

"It's very clear to us that al Qaeda has been able for the past 18 months or so to establish a safe haven along the Afghan-Pakistan border area that they have not enjoyed before, and that they're bringing in operatives into the region for training," he said.

Hayden added that those operatives "wouldn't attract your attention if they were going through the customs line at Dulles (airport, outside Washington) with you when you're coming back to the United States - who look Western."

Adding weight to Hayden's remarks were claims made Sunday by a Taliban subcommander, who told CBS News that his organization and al Qaeda are now operating more militant training camps in Pakistan's border tribal region than ever before.

The subcommander, who spoke to CBS News on the condition that he not be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said some 4,000 Taliban fighters were about to be moved from the camps in Pakistan across the border into Afghanistan.

He also said that al Qaeda is running a number of "special camps" for extremists who are destined to be sent to Western countries to wage attacks there.

The subcommander would not say where the militants were from, or which countries they were training to target, but recent videos posted on jihadist Internet forums show trainees speaking European languages. Five French nationals are currently on trial in Paris, accused of funneling young Muslims from the suburbs to fight against American troops in Iraq.

Included in the 4,000 Taliban militants destined to try and cross the border to wage attacks in Afghanistan, according to the subcommander, are "about three-dozen (suicide) vest makers and explosive device experts will start making it into different Afghan regions this year."

He said al Qaeda "played a great part" in increasing the technical and combat skill levels of the thousands of jihadists who traveled to the Pakistan camps. Though many are from Pakistan themselves, others came from country's across the Muslim world to join the fight, the subcommander said.

Speaking recently to CBS News, Taliban subcommander Mullah Anas vowed that 2008 would be the bloodiest yet in Afghanistan. Anas, who has often spoken to the media by phone, said the Taliban would strike with new technology, new techniques and a higher number of suicide attacks than ever before. He said the group hoped to carry out 250-280 suicide attacks this year.

According to Anas, the new technology includes more sophisticated roadside bombs, RPGs and attack techniques. He said the Taliban was going to focus on isolating Kabul, along with rest of the south and southeast of the country - and cutting off U.S. and Afghan government supply lines from inside Pakistan. Some parts of Afghanistan are too difficult to reach by road from inside the country.

A statement attributed to Taliban senior commander Mullah Bradar early last week also threatened more attacks this spring using new techniques. Bradar also warned that Afghans working with the government would be targeted.

Washington has sought reassurance that Pakistan's new coalition government will keep the pressure on extremist groups using the country's lawless northwest frontier as a springboard for attacks in Afghanistan and beyond.

Over the weekend, Pakistan's new prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, pledged to make the fight against terrorism his top priority. But he said peace talks and aid programs could be more effective than weapons in fighting militancy in tribal areas along the Afghan border. It was the new government's latest rebuke of President Pervez Musharraf's military tactics, which many Pakistanis believe have led to a spike in domestic attacks.

On Sunday, Hayden declined to comment on reports that the U.S. might be escalating unilateral strikes against al Qaeda members and fighters operating in Pakistan's tribal areas out of concern that the pro-Western Musharraf's influence might be waning. Hayden only would say that Pakistan's cooperation in the past has been crucial to U.S. efforts to stem terrorism there.

"The situation on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border presents clear and present danger to Afghanistan, Pakistan, the West in general and United States in particular," he said. "Operationally, we are turning every effort to capture or kill that leadership from the top to the bottom."

On Iraq, Hayden said it could be "years" before the central government might be able to function on its own without the aid of U.S. combat forces. Hayden said he would defer to the specific assessments of Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and Ryan Crocker, top U.S. diplomat in Baghdad, who return to Washington next month to report to Congress.

Hayden spoke on NBC television's "Meet the Press."

[prinzowhales]

COLONIENY--While you are in doubt as to "what" I am, I see you are not ready to even address what the former governor of Minnesota had to say about 9-11-- that it was an inside job.

Facts only confuse you and so you respond with a smear. That is the only weapon you and your ilk have when confronted with facts...facts that you have failed to even challenge.

[lovegetpeace]

Hey Swwils,
The old ''Fear Factor'' game is boring for me. Use another new trick.

[colonieny]

To NeoCommies :Showing hypocrisy is not an argument.

[swwils]

Those crazy Al-Qaeda get their hands on one of Pakistan''s nukes and we are doomed,so we better protect those borders with all we have and can get.

[colonieny]

Prinzofwhales: You are either a moral idiot, or a college professor.
Here are some things I know you believe.
All cutures are the same, ours is worse.
The US is racist country, despite so many white male and females voting and supporting Omaba for President,and so many other examples.
If we just talk to our enemies, we could all get along.
The Arab Islamic Terrorists are justified in attacking us, because of things we have done.

;;;;;There are several "story lines" to parrot back, which these people are taught in colleges by leftist teachers. No facts, just story lines.
What idiots.

[prinzowhales]

Jesse Ventura can be heard on the replay of the Alex Jones Show, first hour, at infowars.com. He''s done his homework and maintains that 9-11 WAS AN INSIDE JOB!! Now, who really gives a rat''s arse what the liar Hayden has to say about anything?...Let''s see what how he is going to protect us from the terrorists who employ him!!

[prinzowhales]

Is it any wonder that CBS is firing newsmen?--the news is covered elsewhere on the internet...at places like infowars.com, prisonplanet.com, truthnews.com...

When a former governor comes out and says that 9-11 was an inside job--IT IS NEWS!!...Just as it was news that the longest serving president of Italy since World War II said it was common knowledge within the intelligence community that 9-11 was a joint US-Israeli operation to justify the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. Where is CBS?

[speakinup]

"COLONIENY. That''s called a "free fire zone" and resulted in My Lai, as well as the deaths on 100s of thousands of Vietnamese... and you STILL LOST!
86 43 Posted by Nancy_Naive


I love this....

This dimwit equates a "free fire zone" which is, according to the Army, "A specific designated area into which any weapon system may fire without additional coordination with the establishing headquarters" - an area not containing friendlies beyond the FEBA; with the My Lai Massacre, something perpetrated by a renegade officer, and not sanctioned by the US Army.

Then they go another step saying the "Free Fire Zone" caused 100,000s of deaths (like they really knew).

What a jail house lawyer. What a freak of far left.

BTW......... 86, 43, HIKE! is probably much better known than your pathetic 86 43.

Grow a brain, leftie.

[colonieny]

AND, THE FAR LEFT CAN NOT CONFRONT REAL EVIL.

[colonieny]

One of the hang ups of the far left, is to show hypocrisy of some kind (US bankers backed Hitler). So what ? This is one way to deflect the issue .