FBI, CIA Say al-Qaeda Still Main Threat to US

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, February 12, 2003

FBI, CIA Say al-Qaeda Still Main Threat to US

The chiefs of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) said Tuesday that the al-Qaeda terrorist network remains the main threat to the United States.

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The chiefs of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) said Tuesday that the al-Qaeda terrorist network remains the main threat to the United States.

FBI Director Robert Mueller, in a joint appearance with CIA Director George J. Tenet before the Senate Intelligence Committee,said the al-Qaeda is still a "resourceful, merciless" foe threatening to launch terrorist attacks against the United States and its interests around the world.

Meanwhile, Tenet told the Senate panel that the al-Qaeda is seeking to use chemical, biological and radiological weapons against Americans and might target lightly guarded places such as shopping malls or universities.

But both Mueller and Tenet assured that their agencies are better prepared to detect and head off attacks than they were before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks which killed over 3,000 people in 2001.

Last Friday, the Bush administration raised the level of terroralert from yellow to orange, the second highest level meaning a "high risk" of terrorist attack.

It is the second time the Unite States increased its terror warning level. The first time the Bush administration raised the alert level from yellow to orange was on Sept. 10, 2002, one day before the first anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks in 2001. It was lowered two weeks later.

US Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said Monday that the latest terrorism warning is "the most significant" since the Sept.11 attacks in 2001, urging US citizens to get "more prepared" to respond to terrorism warning.

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