By Raymond Whitaker and Nick Meo
Kabul - A secret FBI report has cast doubt on al-Qaeda's ability to stage another "spectacular" attack on the United States, three-and-a-half years after the September 11 suicide hijackings and a year after the Madrid bombings, the network's only other major strike in the West.
While the desire of al-Qaeda's leadership to attack the US was "not in question", the report said, "their capability to do so is unclear, particularly in regard to "spectacular operations".
Contrary to statements by prosecutors and the FBI's own chief, Robert Mueller, the February report, obtained last week by ABC News, says the agency knows of no al-Qaeda "sleeper" agents in the US.
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| 'Stopping him is the greatest challenge of our day' |
Recently US President George Bush said Osama bin Laden had contacted Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al-Qaeda's chief associate in Iraq, to seek his help in planning attacks on the US.
Although some analysts saw this as a sign of weakness on Bin Laden's part, Bush said his message was "a telling reminder that al-Qaeda still hopes to attack us on our own soil. Stopping him is the greatest challenge of our day".
With Bin Laden having proved so elusive, Bush rarely mentions the name of the man he said was wanted "dead or alive" shortly after the September 2001 attacks.
Pakistan's leader, General Pervez Musharraf, recently said "the trail has gone cold" - even though the al-Qaeda leader is assumed to be hiding in the lawless tribal territories along Pakistan's 2 500km border with Afghanistan.
And while 18 000 American troops remain in Afghanistan to hunt down the remnants of al-Qaeda and its Taliban allies, commanders have complained that intelligence resources and special forces have been diverted to Iraq.
| 'It is highly unlikely that Bin Laden himself is in Yemen' |
The Sunday Independent has learned that since last summer a squadron of the British SAS has been stationed in Yemen, Bin Laden's birthplace. They are working with local security forces against al-Qaeda, which draws support and numerous recruits from Yemen.
Rohan Gunaratna, a leading expert on al-Qaeda, said: "It is highly unlikely that Bin Laden himself is in Yemen, but any contacts he makes with his extended family or networks there could lead to him."
According to US intelligence officials, Zarqawi responded positively to Bin Laden's overtures. One senior official described his reply as: "Let's talk. I have ideas, you have ideas."
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