Evidence found in the failed London and Glasgow bombings at the end of June indicates that al Qaeda terrorists, and perhaps operational cells, are functioning inside the United States. The news surfaced in early August, at the same time that an American-born al Qaeda spokesman threatened to attack U.S. targets in the homeland and abroad.
Following the bombing attempts in London and Glasgow, investigators established that the perpetrators’ e-mail chains used to communicate with al Qaeda operatives in Europe also included e-mail addresses belonging to Americans, according to the New York Sun (August 6).
At one point, two of the British plotters attempted to travel to the U.S. for an unknown purpose.
“Because of the London and Glasgow plot, we now know communications have been made from al Qaeda to operatives in the United States,” a counterterrorism official told the newspaper.
The source added that no specific names, targets or timelines were uncovered regarding an imminent attack on the American homeland.
“I believe there are cells in the United States, or at least people who aspire to create cells in the United States,” Northern Command Air Force General Victor Renuart said. “To assume that there are not those cells is naive, and so we have to take that threat seriously” (ibid.).
Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff has said he has a “gut feeling” about an increased risk of attack.
Also in early August, al Qaeda released an Internet video threatening to strike American embassies and interests overseas. Adam Gadahn, a California native and now an al Qaeda member, appears in the video, stating, “We shall continue to target you, at home and abroad, just as you target us, at home and abroad ….”
Terrorism continues to spread throughout the West in spite of the war on terror. Many believe it is only a matter of time before the next cataclysmic attack. To learn more about this subject, visit theTrumpet.com to read “Why We Cannot Win the War Against Terrorism,” by Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry in our November 2003 issue.