Al Qaeda has been badly splintered, and smaller groups will bring ‘the next wave’ of anti-U.S. violence, the CIA chief tells senators. CIA Director George J. Tenet warned Tuesday that a wave of smaller, scattered terrorist organizations was eclipsing Al Qaeda as the most serious threat to the United States and its allies, and that Iraq was increasingly seen as a “golden opportunity” for jihadist groups to rally their cause. Tenet told a Senate panel that Al Qaeda had been badly damaged by military and intelligence operations after the Sept. 11 attacks, but that the network had splintered into a collection of smaller franchises — and inspired the proliferation of others — that see the United States as their main enemy and prime target. Describing the rise of such organizations as “the next wave of the terrorist threat,” Tenet said Al Qaeda’s message and methods have spread so swiftly that “a serious threat will remain for the foreseeable future, with or without Al Qaeda in the picture.” Full Story
About OODA Analyst
OODA is comprised of a unique team of international experts capable of providing advanced intelligence and analysis, strategy and planning support, risk and threat management, training, decision support, crisis response, and security services to global corporations and governments.