CNN.com

Peter Bergen on CNN | Anderson Cooper 360 'Recent Female Suicide Attackers'

Communications — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 09:09:00 -0400

New America in the News:
PETER BERGEN, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: ...The first female suicide attackers showed up in Iraq November 9, 2005. She, in fact was Belgian, conducted a suicide attack on an American convoy. But she was the beginning of a trend that, unfortunately, has increased.

We've seen a large number of female suicide attackers. One of the reasons that al Qaeda is employing these female suicide attackers now is that the flow of foreign fighters into Iraq has decreased rather significantly.

I was in Iraq some months back and, you know, a year ago, 120 foreign fighters, many of them volunteering for suicide missions, were coming into Iraq. Now that flow has gone down to about 25 a month... LINK to full transcript

Peter Bergen in CNN.com | 'Hundreds Held in Saudi Terror Swoop'

Communications — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 09:15:00 -0400

New America in the News:

Saudi authorities announced a massive anti-terrorism sweep Wednesday that netted more than 500 members of a purported al Qaeda-linked terrorist cell said to be planning attacks on Saudi targets, including major oil installations...

...The announcement is a reminder that al Qaeda in Saudi Arabia remains a real threat, despite the successes that Saudi authorities have had since their campaign against the group began in 2003, CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen said... LINK

Al Qaeda In Iraq

Ron Tang — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 10:22:00 -0400

In a great journalistic coup, Michael Ware and the CNN team in Iraq have unearthed the largest collection of al Qaeda in Iraq material outside the hands of the US military. What they found in this collection of videos and memos underlines a key aspect of the al Qaeda organization in Iraq; it is highly organized, and not simply a loosely-knit collection of jihadists.

A debate has recently erupted in the pages of Foreign Affairs, the leading American journal of international relations, between two scholars of terrorism. On one side is former CIA case officer, Marc Sageman, the author of Leaderless… more

Bin Laden And Palestine

Ron Tang — Fri, 16 May 2008 11:04:00 -0400

Less than a day after Republican presidential candidate John McCain promised that if he won the presidency Osama bin Laden would be captured or killed by 2013, a message from al Qaeda’s leader appeared on jihadist websites reminding the world that he is alive and well.

Bin Laden’s audiotape message commented on the recent 60th anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel; promised that he would fight for the liberation of Palestine, and told his Muslim listeners that they have a duty to help in that effort.

Was the audiotape an attempt by bin Laden to remain relevant by pushing… more

Peter Bergen in Election News from CNN.com | " Reality Check: How Clear is McCain's Crystal Ball?"

Communications — Fri, 16 May 2008 03:30:00 -0400

New America in the News:

. . . Terrorism analyst Peter Bergen took aim at McCain's bin Laden prediction.

"Maybe some key lieutenants, but bin Laden has not made the mistakes to get caught or killed, and we haven't had actionable information on where bin Laden is since the battle of Tora Bora in 2001," Bergen said.

Bergen pointed out that President Bush has said the United States and its allies would get bin Laden, but has put no timetable on it -- and Bush has access to daily intelligence reports.

"There still has not been a major terrorist attack in the United States since September 11, 2001," McCain said in Thursday's speech.

It is something that Bergen believes is more plausible.

"The American public is more vigilant ... The United States government has made it safer. It's harder to get into the U.S. if you're a terrorist. Al Qaeda isn't the same organization it was on September 11 of 2001, even though it has resurged recently," he said. . .

Peter Bergen is a Schwartz Senior Fellow with the New America Foundation.

For the full article, click here.

Taliban-Destroyed Buddhas May Never Be Restored

Articles — Thu, 10 May 2007 13:15:00 -0400

At the foot of cliffs in central Afghanistan, about 5,000 fragments of what were once among the world’s great artistic and religious treasures, the Buddhas of Bamiyan, sit in rudimentary shelters.

Their destruction by the Taliban in March 2001 was an act of cultural vandalism on a spectacular scale. The two tallest standing Buddhas in the world -- which had stood as silent sentinels over the snow-capped valley of Bamiyan for more than 1,500 years -- were reduced to mere rubble.

Wire mesh now covers the cliffs to prevent them from deteriorating further, while archaeologists and restoration experts have cataloged the fragments… more

Does Bin Laden Trail Lead to Pakistan?

Articles — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 17:14:00 -0400

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. intelligence officials say Osama bin Laden is likely hiding in Pakistan, and the former head of the CIA's bin Laden unit says the United States will have to be "extraordinarily lucky" to get the al Qaeda leader.

"Sometimes you get lucky," Michael Scheuer, who headed the CIA's bin Laden unit from 1996-1999, told CNN. "But looking for Osama bin Laden in the Hindu Kush is not like looking for Eric Rudolph in North Carolina."

Gary Berntsen, who led a CIA paramilitary unit pursuing bin Laden shortly after the September 11, 2001… more

Bin Laden Might Find Relief in al-Zarqawi's Death

Articles — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 16:20:02 -0400

ZURICH, Switzerland(CNN) -- Osama bin Laden and his number two man, Ayman al-Zawahiri, would have first met Abu Musab al-Zarqawi around 1999, just after he had been released from a Jordanian jail and made his way to Afghanistan.

Al-Zarqawi went there to set up a training camp in the western part of the country for a small group of his Jordanian followers known as Tawhid, an organization that aimed to overthrow the Jordanian government.

During this period, al-Zarqawi had no wish to attack the United States, as al Qaeda's leaders had already decided to do, and… more

World knew her simply as Marla

Articles — Tue, 19 Apr 2005 00:00:00 -0400

Thousands of people from around the world knew her simply as Marla.

In dusty, remote Afghan villages, on the streets of Baghdad, and in the corridors of power in Washington, when you mentioned Marla everyone knew who you were talking about and a smile would invariably come to the person's face. She had hundreds of best friends in every corner of the globe. She treated everybody as if they were incredibly special. She loved everybody.

After spending several months in Afghanistan in late 2001 and early 2002, Marla arrived in Washington with no money and knowing almost nobody. In a short period,… more

U.S. Authorities Capture 'Dirty Bomb' Suspect

Articles — Mon, 10 Jun 2002 00:00:00 -0400

Federal officials have captured a U.S. citizen with suspected ties to al Qaeda who allegedly planned to build and explode a radioactive "dirty bomb" in the United States, the Justice Department said Monday.

U.S. officials said Washington was the probable target of the plot. FBI Director Robert Mueller said the plot was in the "discussion stage" when the suspect, Abdullah Al Muhajir, was arrested. Mueller said the plot had not gone any further, to the knowledge of U.S. authorities.

Attorney General John Ashcroft said Al Muhajir -- who was born Jose Padilla -- was captured May 8 as he flew from Pakistan… more