'', The Washington Post, 13 August 2008

EXCERPT: "Al-Qaeda has exploited recent political turmoil in Pakistan to strengthen its foothold along the country's border with Afghanistan, a top U.S. counterterrorism official said yesterday in an assessment that also warned of a heightened risk of attack during the upcoming U.S. election season. Despite the loss of key leaders to U.S. strikes, Osama bin Laden continues to enjoy a haven in the border region and has managed to deepen alliances with a wide range of Islamist groups from South Asia to the Middle East, said Ted Gistaro, the national intelligence officer for transnational threats and an al-Qaeda expert. With the help of such allies, al-Qaeda is seeking to position terrorist operatives in the United States and other Western countries, Gistaro said. Gistaro was the principal author of a 'National Intelligence Estimate' report last August that described a resurgent al-Qaeda rebuilding its network inside the autonomous tribal lands in Pakistan's northwestern frontier. Such estimates represent the consensus view of U.S. intelligence agencies."

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See also:
'', AFP, 13 August 2008
'Leading al-Qaeda figure believed killed in Pakistan', The Globe and Mail, 13 August 2008

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