Al-Qaeda Boss Calls Obama 'House Negro'

Documents reveal al-Qaeda leader also wanted Petraeus dead

(NEWSER) - Documents taken from Osama bin Laden's compound during the US raid that killed the al-Qaeda leader reveal a plot to kill President Obama and David Petraeus. David Ignatius got a look at the documents, which will be available to the public soon, and he reports in the Washington Post that bin Laden wanted his network to focus on attacks in America, rather than operations inside Muslim countries, and he specifically instructed attacks on Obama's and Petraeus's aircraft. The way he saw it, "killing [Obama] automatically will make [Vice President Joe] Biden take over the presidency. … Biden is totally unprepared for that post, which will lead the US into a crisis." More»

But general stresses it's not the people in charge

(NEWSER) - US intelligence indicates “flickers” of evidence that there are fighters among the Libyan rebels with ties to al-Qaeda and Hezbollah, but neither group holds significant sway over the movement, Admiral James Stavridis told Congress today. “The intelligence that I'm receiving at this point makes me feel that the leadership that I'm seeing are responsible men and women,” said Stavridis, NATO’s supreme Europe commander, according to the Wall Street Journal . More»

President fears 'stunt' will endanger troops, lead to violence

(NEWSER) - President Obama weighed in on the Koran-burning controversy for the first time today, calling it "a recruitment bonanza for al-Qaeda." His comments came during an interview with George Stephanopoulos airing today on Good Morning America . Highlights:

• His message to Pastor Terry Jones: "This stunt that he is talking about pulling could greatly endanger our young men and women in uniform who are in Iraq, who are in Afghanistan. You could have serious violence in places like Pakistan or Afghanistan. This could increase the recruitment of individuals who'd be willing to blow themselves up in American cities, or European cities."

Al-Zawahri taunts: 'Can you promise your hordes will return safely?'

(NEWSER) - In an audio message posted online today, Al-Qaeda's second-in-command taunts President Obama for saying that the US would prevail in Afghanistan, Reuters reports. Experts attribute the recording to Ayman al-Zawahiri, who refers to the president's March visit, saying, "Poor Obama comes to Kabul and he promises that Taliban shall not return to power." More»

President, Clinton cite US arrests, but link to Pakistan appears weak

(NEWSER) - The White House has been overstating the link between recent domestic terrorism arrests and al-Qaeda activities in Pakistan and Afghanistan, security experts say. In justifying the Afghanistan troop buildup, President Obama cited recent arrests within the US; Hillary Clinton cited some of the same incidents a few days later. But the connection between al-Qaeda’s nerve center in Pakistan and those arrests is much more nebulous than they’re implying, counterterrorism officials tell the Washington Independent . More»