General: Al-Qaida Making New Cells in US
Pastor Dale Morgan
General: Al-Qaida Making New Cells in US*
Wednesday July 25, 2007 2:46 AM
By LOLITA C. BALDOR
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - A top U.S. military commander said Tuesday he believes
there are al-Qaida cells in the United States - or people working to
create them - and the military needs to triple its response teams to
counter a growing threat of attack.
Air Force Gen. Victor ``Gene'' Renuart, who heads U.S. Northern Command,
said that as the terrorism threat within the nation's boundaries has
increased officials have strengthened intelligence sharing, particularly
in an effort to shore up security at ports.
``I believe there are cells in the United States, or at least people who
aspire to create cells in the United States,'' Renuart said in an
interview with The Associated Press. ``To assume that there are not
those cells is naive and so we have to take that threat seriously.''
As for attacks, he added: ``Am I concerned that this will happen this
summer? I have to be concerned that it could happen any day.''
Other U.S. officials said last week they did not know of al-Qaida cells
in the United States.
Renuart, who took over at U.S. Northern Command just four months ago,
said the military has one brigade-size unit available to respond to
nuclear, chemical and biological incidents at home. That number, he
said, needs to grow to three. A brigade is about 3,500 troops.
Renuart's comments came in the wake of a national intelligence report
released last week, which concluded that al-Qaida is using its growing
strength in the Middle East to plot attacks on U.S. soil. The general is
in Washington this week to attend meetings with Defense Secretary Robert
Gates, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Peter Pace, and a number of other top
military commanders.
Port security has long been identified as a key weak point for terror
attacks, including the need to scan cargo containers coming into the
country by ship.
Renuart said officials are expanding their use of sensors and other
technologies that allow them to track ships, including their location,
their speed and other commercial information. And, while he would not
provide details, he said there has already been ``real payback'' in
terms of identifying vessels of concern and either checking or boarding
them well before they entered U.S. waters.
In addition, he said he is increasing the number of Coast Guard
personnel assigned to U.S. Northern Command to help during port security
incidents or hurricanes. Currently there are 20 active duty personnel,
and a new team of five reservists was created in April. Another five
reservists are being added to that team by the end of the year.
``Because the national intelligence estimate talks about the
vulnerability of ports, and because of the importance that we place on
the movement of a variety of goods through those ports, finding ways to
improve that is a really important element of our day-to-day work,''
Renuart said.
Improving communications between federal agencies and among emergency
responders - including intelligence, homeland security and defense - has
been an ongoing struggle. Officials identified significant
communications failures during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and
found that there were continuing problems during the hurricanes that
devastated the Gulf Coast in August 2005.
Renuart said he has been working to improve the interaction between his
office and the other intelligence agencies to ensure that information on
terror threats is shared. That way, he said, the military will better be
able to anticipate how terrorists might try to take advantage of any
gaps or weaknesses in the system.
At the same time, he said it will be at least two years before he is
able to pull together the military units he needs to better respond to a
chemical, biological or nuclear disaster in the U.S.
The units, he said, could include active duty, reserves or National
Guard troops. And while portions of the brigades will be located in
different states, they will be expected to train together and to be able
to respond quickly to a disaster.
They would largely be made up of support forces, such as evacuation,
medical, logistics and transportation troops. The Pentagon has been
working since last year to identify units to be part of the brigade-size
response teams.
Overall, Renuart said that as the terror threat has increased, the
nation's ability to detect problems has also improved.
The intelligence report, he said, is a ``summary of drumbeats, and the
drumbeats are getting more prevalent out there. You cannot afford to
ignore that.'' But, he said, a few years ago the nation was not as able
to hear and interpret those drumbeats.
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On the Net:
U.S. Northern Command: http://www.northcom.mil/