Washington: The CIA on Tuesday warned India and
Brazil that they face "emerging threats" from al Qaeda and
Taliban, though the terrorist outfits are "on the run" due to
extreme pressure exerted on them in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
CIA Director Leon Panetta, said that the US spy agency
has a "fundamental duty to provide warning and prevent
surprise," which also refers to "emerging threats" to nations
like Brazil and India, indicating the need for growing
cooperation between the US and India on intelligence sharing.
Intense operations have put top al Qaeda and Taliban
leaders under extreme pressure and "many of them are on the
run," Panetta claimed.
He said "Our counter-terrorism operation have put put
top al Qaeda leaders under intense pressure and much of their
network has been disrupted."
He said that American efforts both in Afghanistan and
Pakistan were aimed at hitting command and control centres of
the al Qaeda. Panetta's claim comes as Pakistani forces with
the help of CIA have captured some top Taliban commanders,
including the outfits Nos 2 Mulla Abdul Ghani Baradar.
Without referring to covert drone attacks believed to
be launched from Pakistani soil, Panetta said in his address
at the University of Oklahoma.
Saying that US was at war with al Qaeda and its
affiliated terrorist organisations, America's top spy claimed
that operations in tribal areas of Pakistan has killed more
than half of al-Qaeda's top 20 commanders.
US drone attacks have also claimed to have killed more
than 600 al Qaeda and Taliban militants in less than three
years.
Warning that it was a war, the spy chief said al Qaeda
would keep on coming at the Americans and said new
intelligence indicated that Osama bin Laden led outfit was
changing its tactics and trying to launch attacks on the US
through people with no history of terrorist activities.
In Afghanistan and Pakistan, Panetta said America's
goal is to "degrade the Taliban" in order to allow the Afghan
people to govern themselves freely.
The question that most concerned Panetta was whether
the US would be able to ultimately transfer power to the
Afghan people.
The answer, he said, lies in whether the Karzai
administration will succeed in building effective government,
which he defined as the capacity to protect the people "at the
provincial level."
Panetta said fighting the spread of deadly weapons is
a core issue of the CIA’s duties, especially in light of Osama
Bin Laden describing the acquisition of nuclear weapons a
"religious duty."
The CIA Director said the US is lagging behind in the
cyber war and told the audience that he feared that the next
Pearl Harbor might be a cyber attack.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, March 09, 2010, 22:22