|
Trending Topics
|
Leaving Iraq, U.S. Fears New Surge of Qaeda Terror
(New York Times) Michael S. Schmidt and Eric Schmitt - As the U.S. prepares to withdraw its troops from Iraq by year's end, senior American and Iraqi officials are expressing growing concern that al-Qaeda's offshoot there is poised for a deadly resurgence. The group, Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, has shown surprising resilience even as its traditional supply lines of foreign fighters through Syria have been disrupted by the turmoil in that country, American intelligence officials say. In May, two Iraqi refugees living in Bowling Green, Ky., were charged with trying to send sniper rifles, Stinger missiles and money to the Qaeda affiliate in their home country. The new director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Matthew G. Olsen, cited a video the group released in January calling on individuals to attack students and infrastructure in the West.