'Threat to US is from Pak and Afghanistan'

PTI

Washington: Primary threat to US comes from Pakistan and Afghanistan, said FBI director Robert Mueller.

"Our primary threat continues to come from the tribal areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. But we are seeing persistent activity elsewhere, from the Maghreb and the Sahel to Yemen," Mueller said.

Delivering a speech on FBI's role in global terrorism at the Council on Foreign Relations, Mueller expressed concern with pockets of people around the world that identify with al-Qaeda and its ideology.

"Now, some may have little or no actual contact with al-Qaeda. Yet fringe organizations can quickly gain broader aspirations and appeal. Should they connect with the core of al-Qaeda, from training to the planning and execution of attacks, the game becomes radically different," he said.

Mueller said even eight years after 9/11, the US not only faces threats from al Qaeda, but also focus from less well-known terrorist groups, as well as homegrown terrorists.

"In several of the plots we have disrupted since 9/11, some have asked whether individuals in question had the intent and the capability to carry out their plans. There will always be a tension between acting early to disrupt a plot in its planning stages and continuing to investigate until we are certain that the individuals in question are poised to attack, and in each case, that calibration will be different,"he said.