The enemy's plan of attack against US

Bill Gertz:

Al Qaeda terrorists continue to plan and train for a major attack against the United States, but so far, there are no signs that the group's extremists have infiltrated into the country, senior U.S. security and intelligence officials told Congress yesterday.

"They have committed leadership that can adapt. They have safe haven for training. They have middle management for organization and training and preparation. The thing they need the most are operations personnel," retired Vice Adm. Michael McConnell, director of national intelligence, told a Senate hearing.

"We watch them recruit. We watch them bring them to Pakistan, that border area between Pakistan and Afghanistan, ... to train them in things like liquid explosives and so on, so the intent is clear," he said. "They have not yet been successful infiltrating back in the United States."

Targets include U.S. political, economic and infrastructure elements "with the goal of producing mass casualties, visually dramatic destruction and significant economic shocks," Mr. McConnell said.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said al Qaeda remains determined to carry out attacks against the United States "preferably in the homeland" or overseas.

"I think they are looking both to develop operatives who they can launch from overseas; they're also, I think, hoping to radicalize those within this country," Mr. Chertoff said. "They've been less successful in the latter respect here than they have in Europe, but it is a growing issue."

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Mr. McConnell said al Qaeda has been successful in "linking" different groups in Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Lebanon and other areas into affiliates.

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"With sanctuary and committed leadership, they've rebuilt the middle tier," he said. "What they don't have are the vast numbers of recruits to carry out the acts they would like to perpetrate. So that's where we have our focus, is to try to cut off the head of the snake" — a reference to efforts to kill or capture al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri.

Al Qaeda has regained a "significant level" of its capability since the September 11 attacks but is not as strong, he said.

Mr. Redd said U.S. counterterrorism efforts are focused on "taking the fight to the enemy," a strategy that he said has been successful.

"Thousands of terrorists have been taken off the field of battle, and dozens of plots have been disrupted."

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Rudy Giuliani has correctly noted that the Democrats want to shrink from this offensive action and put the country back on the strategic defensive. By pulling the troops out of Iraq and giving al Qaeda a win the Democrats would return us to the lawfare strategy that failed in the 90s. We would not be disrupting attacks but looking for the mass murderers after they attacked. We would be disclosing our sources and methods of gathering evidence against them through the discovery process in the criminal courts.