Al Qaeda is working hard in Pakistan tribal areas

Bill Gertz:

Al Qaeda forces are gaining strength in remote areas of Pakistan and stepping up activities in that country, the region and farther abroad, according to recent U.S. intelligence assessments.

The terrorist group that carried out the September 11 terrorist attacks is operating freely in tribal areas of Pakistan, where new recruits are joining the group, being trained, and then traveling to Europe and North Africa, said U.S. officials familiar with the assessments.

"Post 9/11, we undertook aggressive action, but within the last couple of years al Qaeda has had a resurgence," one official said. "They are not as strong as they were Sept. 10, [2001], but they are surely better off than they were two to 2½ years ago."

Three main worries among U.S. security officials about al Qaeda are its activities in and out of Pakistan, its operations in North Africa and Europe, and its sophisticated propaganda activities worldwide, the officials said.

Al Qaeda continues to be viewed as the main national security threat to the United States and the assessment of its activities is expected to be disclosed formally next month when senior U.S. intelligence officials brief Congress.

The major concern among U.S. intelligence agencies is al Qaeda's stepped up activities — operations, recruitment and training — in the border regions of Pakistan.

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Terrorists there are conducting "operational planning" and have sent some recruited terrorists from Pakistan back to Iraq to conduct attacks along with al Qaeda in Iraq.

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Another main focus of al Qaeda is the group's propaganda activities, aimed at advertising its goals and recruiting new members. Al Qaeda propaganda operations have been in "high gear" for the past year with the re-emergence of Osama bin Laden, in a recent recorded statement, along with several statements from No. 2 leader Ayman al-Zawahri, as well as California-born Islamist Adam Gadhan.

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Most of al Qaeda's military operations are primarily PR ops. They rarely attack military units, focusing most of their attacks on non combatants. That is why protecting the people is so important to counterinsurgency operations. They hope to gain control by intimidating people and not defeating military force which they are inadequate to do anyway.