U.S. Intelligence Chief Says Al-Qaeda No Longer Poses Major Threat

March 12, 2013

The United States national intelligence director, James Clapper, has testified to Congress that Al-Qaeda no longer posed a major threat.

Clapper said in an annual assessment presented to lawmakers that the core of Al-Qaeda had been severely weakened and the terrorist group was unlikely to carry out "complex, large-scale attacks in the West."

Addressing the Senate Intelligence Committee, Clapper said that despite being weakened, Al-Qaeda had not abandoned its war against the United States, and its affiliates, particularly in Yemen, are plotting to attack the U.S. and its allies.

Clapper said cyberattacks and cyberespionage had replaced terrorism as the top threats to the United States.

Clapper's 34-page paper ran through a wide variety of threats covered by U.S. intelligence agencies, including North Korea, Iran, and Syria.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/qaeda-threat-clapper-intelligence/24926688.html

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