Al-Qaida Creating Cells in Other Countries

Al-Qaida, increasingly tamped down in Iraq, is establishing cells in other countries as Osama bin Laden's organization uses Pakistan's tribal region to train for attacks in Afghanistan, the Middle East, Africa and the United States, the U.S. intelligence chief said last Tuesday. Mike McConnell told a Senate hearing more than six years after the Sept 11 attacks that Al-Qaida remains the pre-eminent threat against the United States. McConnell said that fewer than 100 al-Qaida terrorists have moved from Iraq to establish cells in other countries as the U.S. military clamps down on their activities, and the organization "may deploy resources to mount attacks outside the country". He also said while the level of violence in Iraq has dropped sharply since last year, it is going to be years before Iraq is stable. He said it is not going to be over in a year. It is going to be a long time to bring it to closure.