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Rediff.com  » News » CIA chief warns of Pak terrorist attacks

CIA chief warns of Pak terrorist attacks

By T V Parasuram in Washington
March 18, 2005 11:38 IST
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A top American intelligence official has warned that terrorists in Pakistan remained committed to attacking US targets.

Also, it may be only a matter of time before the al-Qaeda or other group attempts to use chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons, Central Intelligence Agency Director Porter J Goss told the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in Washington in his maiden public appearance after assuming the top post in September.

He said the terrorist threat to the US endures and asserted that defeating terrorism must remain one of the core objectives of the US intelligence community,.

Al Qaeda is intent on finding ways to circumvent US security enhancements to strike Americans and the country, Goss said while elaborating on the worldwide threat perception to the US.

Al Qaeda is only one facet of the threat from a broader Sunni jihadi movement, he said.

"Our pursuit of al Qaeda and its most senior leaders, including bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al Zawahiri is intense. However, their capture alone would not be enough to eliminate the terrorist threat to the US homeland or US interests overseas."

On the issue of nuclear proliferation, Goss referred to the disgraced Pakistani scientists A Q Khan's illegal network.

"We believe North Korea continues to pursue a uranium enrichment capability drawing on the assistance it received from A Q Khan before his network was shut down.

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T V Parasuram in Washington
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