“The current assessment, conservatively, is one to two years for al-Qaeda to create at least the ability to threaten the homeland,” Defense Intelligence Agency director Lieutenant General Scott Barrier told an intelligence conference on Tuesday. ”
“We’re looking at ways to get access back into Afghanistan with all kinds of sources and access,” Berrier said. “We are prioritizing that effort. We will continue to make this a priority. But we have to be careful to balance these very scarce resources.”
US intelligence agencies are already looking into the activities of the terrorist group, which once led Osama bin Laden To re-establish itself in Afghanistan, said CIA deputy director David Cohen, who agreed with a time frame of one to two years.
The two intelligence leaders spoke Tuesday at a summit organized by the Intelligence and National Security Alliance and the non-profit group AFCEA in the suburbs of Washington.
Since the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, top defense officials have insisted the US will have “over the horizon” capabilities to take action against terrorists, which will likely include drone strikes, based on what is happening inside Afghanistan.
Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said Monday that the biggest threats to the US from international terrorists come from countries such as Yemen, Somalia, Syria and Iraq, with Afghanistan further down the priority list after ending two decades of US military presence. Is.
“We don’t prioritize – at the top of the list – Afghanistan,” Haines said at the same conference. “What we’re seeing is Yemen and Somalia, Syria and Iraq. That’s where we see the biggest threat.”
domestic dangers
But the general warning of al-Qaeda gaining the capability to launch strikes in the US from Afghanistan is nothing new. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told a Senate committee in June that “it will probably take two years for them to develop that capability.”
One of the more immediate threats comes from domestic terrorists inside the US, intelligence officials have said.
Law enforcement agencies are on high alert ahead of this Saturday’s rally at the US Capitol. Organizers say the rally is aimed at peacefully demanding “justice” for hundreds of “political prisoners” accused in the deadly January 6 riots at the Capitol.
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FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbett told the conference Tuesday that the FBI was not aware of any specific, credible threat of violence prior to the rally.
“We don’t have any specific credible threat information about the violence going on there,” Abbett said.
He said law enforcement agencies are focusing on the preparation for the event.
“There’s a lot of planning and preparation going on in this,” he said. “I believe everyone is well prepared to keep the city and its citizens safe.”
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