Al-Qaeda's capability degraded but still planning attacks: US

Washington: The capability of al-Qaeda has degraded significantly following the death of Osama bin Laden, but the terror outfit is still planning attacks against America, a top US counter terrorism official said yesterday. “Their capability has been degraded significantly. We have taken off the battlefield the founding leader as well as other leading operatives,” John Brennan, Deputy National Security Adviser to US President Barack Obama, was quoted by the ABC news as saying. “We have degraded their infrastructure. Their capability to train. Their capability to deploy operatives. So their capability has been degraded. Our defences have increased. But that doesn’t mean we can rest,” he said. [caption id=“attachment_292674” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Slain Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.”] [/caption] Brennan who appeared on a number of Sunday talk shows including the one on CNN said that the US remains vigilant against such an attack being planned by the al-Qaeda and its terrorist affiliates, a year after Osama bin Laden was killed in a daring raid by the US commandos in his secret hide out in the Abbottabad city area of Pakistan. “Well we are vigilant throughout the course of the year, but on a day that marks the one year anniversary of bin Laden being brought to justice, we are especially vigilant. At this time we don’t see any active plot that is underway, but we are maintaining our guard,” he said. “We are following every lead. There always are reports about al-Qaeda trying to penetrate our defences. But at this point, our counter terrorism professionals are doing their job, both here in the United States we well as abroad,” he added. Brennan in particular expressed concern about al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula which is located in Yemen. “They have demonstrated both the intent, as well as the capability to try to carry out an attack. With the underwear bomber, Christmas Day a couple years ago as well as trying to integrate an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) into a printer cartridge that was going to come aboard a cargo plane here. They are continuing to try again, carry out an attack against US persons inside Yemen, as well as against the homeland,” he said. The top American counter terrorism official said planes continue to be the focus of al-Qaeda planners to use it as a weapon of terrorism. “Aviation has been a target — has been a traditional target of al-Qaeda. They continue to do that. 9/11 obviously they used aircraft as weapons. So we need to maintain our vigilance, clearly overseas at these last points of departure and making sure that we’re doing everything that we can to work with our partners internationally to protect the travelling public,” he said. Brennan said the job is not done yet as the US has to continue to work to destroy the organisation. Brennan said that US still had to take all of al-Qaeda’s operatives, their leaders, their training camps and take away their safe havens. He asserted that they were not going to rest. Brennan pointed out that the president had made it very clear that they had to do everything possible to protect the American people, and the destruction of that organisation is their ultimate goal. The US President, he said, took a very gusty decision on giving his order to kill bin Laden. “All that I know is that the president made the decision when he was given the opportunity to take a gutsy decision, to carry out that raid with our Special Forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan,” he said. “The President made that decision. I think the American people are, you know, clearly very appreciative and supportive of that decision. We’re safer today as a result. And, therefore, all I know is that the president made the decision when he had to,” he added. PTI