Al Qaeda trying to boost push in US, report warns

WASHINGTON - Al Qaeda remains the "most serious and dangerous" terrorism threat and is expected to boost attempts to place agents inside the United States, a new White House report said yesterday.

The report, titled "National Strategy for Homeland Security," said Al Qaeda has protected its top leadership, replenished operational lieutenants, and "regenerated a safe haven" in Pakistan's tribal areas.

Fran Townsend, White House homeland security adviser, asked whether Al Qaeda infiltration efforts were underway, replied: "There's no question. They're not only underway, they're ongoing and have been."

The White House report incorporated the findings of a national intelligence estimate released earlier this year.

"Although we have discovered only a handful of individuals in the United States with ties to Al Qaeda senior leadership, the group likely will intensify its efforts to place operatives here in the homeland," it said.

Despite reports of a haven for Al Qaeda in Pakistan, the White House reiterated that President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan had been a helpful ally in fighting terrorism. "We have enjoyed some of our biggest successes with our allies in Pakistan," Townsend told reporters.

The report was an update to the first White House national homeland security strategy issued in July 2002, which was before the US-led invasion of Iraq.

US-led efforts to hunt down Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden have been unsuccessful, and he has repeatedly issued audio- and videotapes over the years showing that he remains alive.

US officials suspect he is hiding in the mountainous Pakistan-Afghanistan border region.

Al Qaeda was expected to continue to enhance its ability to attack the United States through greater cooperation with regional extremist groups, particularly Al Qaeda in Iraq, the report said.