News & Opinion on Terrorism & Strategic Communication — September 26, 2007

Why bin Laden is Still Out There. “The answers are several, each is compelling, and together they suggest that the U.S.-led coalition’s military and intelligence forces are too over-tasked and spread far too thin to have more than a slim chance of capturing or killing bin Laden and his senior lieutenants.” (Jamestown, 9/25).

Europe is AQ Recruiting Ground. “Al-Qaida continues to recruit Europeans for explosives training in Pakistan because Europeans can more easily enter the United States without a visa, the nation’s top intelligence officer said Tuesday.” (AP via Yahoo, 9/25)

GAO Says Visa Program Invites Terrorists. “The State Department’s ‘Diversity Visa Program’ is so prone to fraud that it is an “open door” through which terrorists can enter the United States legally, according to a government investigation. ” (Cybercast News Service, 9/24)

Islam Down in U.S. Polls. “The number of Americans who say Islam has little or nothing in common with their own religion has spiked to 70 percent in the past two years from 59 percent, the poll found.” (AP, 9/25).

Using Nonverbal Behavior to Spot Terrorists. “In the sea of skybound travelers, who is stressed, who is afraid, and who is trying to hide something? These are the questions this new set of federal security agents try to answer — and they’re doing it without asking.” Who is stressed? Uh…everybody? (WBAY TV, 9/25).

AQ Info Ops and the Pakistan Army. “al-Qaeda is currently engaged in an Information Operation (IO) campaign inside Pakistan. …The primary target of the Pakistan campaign is the Pakistani military and it is driven by al-Qaeda’s accelerating insurgency inside Pakistan.” (Threats Watch, 9/25)