Al-Qaeda to Osama bin Laden: Please Save Us

Washington weighs withdrawal, other options

(NEWSER) - The big question in Washington: Now that Osama bin Laden is dead, what do we do about Afghanistan? Senators John Kerry, a Democrat, and Richard Lugar, a Republican, both said yesterday that we must reassess the nearly decade-old conflict and work toward, as Kerry said, "the smallest footprint necessary." But Pentagon officials argue that rather than withdraw American troops, the US should try to make further gains and apply more pressure on the Taliban, setting the stage for what's sure to be a heated debate. More»

Al-Qaeda leader also had phone numbers sewn into clothes

(NEWSER) - Osama bin Laden was carrying cash and telephone numbers, indicating that he was prepared to escape his compound at any moment. Top US intelligence officials told Congress yesterday that bin Laden had 500 euros (about $740) as well as two phone numbers sewn into his clothing. Three sources who attended the classified briefing confirm the information to Politico . More»

US remains focus for bin Laden, top deputy, intelligence chief says

(NEWSER) - An attempt by al-Qaeda or one of its affiliates to attack the US is “certain” within the next six months, the director of national intelligence told a Senate committee today. As long as Osama bin Laden and his top deputy are on the loose, Dennis Blair says, US targets will be the terror group’s top objective—and al-Qaeda’s ties to Pakistani groups are worrisome, as are its ever-more-active affiliates in Yemen and elsewhere. More»

(NEWSER) - Al Qaeda is weak militarily and “has been rejected by a great majority of Muslims,” Steve Coll writes in the New Yorker, but the terrorist organization and its affiliates can still create a “shock” like today's bombings in Jakarta. Despite the group's apparent inability to pull off a major attack like Sept. 11, “bombings like the one in Jakarta will recur for an indefinite time.” The only solution is for the US to assume “a posture of strategic patience about terrorism that is durable, vigilant, and proportional.” More»

(NEWSER) - The CIA program kept secret from lawmakers and canceled by Leon Panetta last month sought to establish paramilitary units to take out al-Qaeda leaders, former intelligence officials tell the Los Angeles Times. The officials say that while the program was never made operational, CIA chiefs continued to work on plans for it as recently as a year ago. More»