Be On Guard As Al-Qaeda Threat 'Not Diminished'

Team Infidel

Forum Spin Doctor
Singapore Straits Times
June 2, 2008
Pg. H4
Washington continues to monitor South-east Asia for terror-related activities, US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates said, urging governments to stay engaged in the battle.
The threat of Al-Qaeda has not diminished, he said, and there is still unease about the number of individuals gaining inspiration from its leader, Osama bin Laden.
Talking to journalists yesterday, Mr Gates said extremist networks still operate in southern Philippines while others have bombed Bali in the past.
But "governments have taken the threat seriously" which is good for the region, he said.
Worries remain about terrorist activities in Afghanistan and Pakistan, despite recent comments by US Central Intelligence Agency director Michael Hayden that the Al-Qaeda was on the defensive.
Al-Qaeda has reconstituted itself along the borders of the two countries, Mr Gates said.
"They clearly are training potential terrorists, including people from Europe and perhaps the United States.
"There is active training going on there, and Osama bin Laden still continues to inspire people at a distance, through the Internet," he added.
Apart from groups associated with Al-Qaeda, there were other "violent extremist networks" which may or may not have been inspired by it, he warned. This is "why the international community needs to cooperate" in the war on terrorism.
Mr Gates said the US will keep up the fight even with a change of leadership in the White House. After the Sept 11 attacks on the US, "no American president can be complacent about the threat," he said.
--Shefali Rekhi
 
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