The Jakarta Post, 6/20/2007 7:14:53 PM
Australia's spy chief says al-Qaida appears to be rebuilding
SYDNEY, Australia (AP): Al-Qaida appears to be strengthening its forces in the
remote border area between Pakistan and Afghanistan despite offensives by U.S. and
Pakistani troops, and is extendingits global influence, Australia's spy chief said
Wednesday.
Paul O'Sullivan, the head of the Australia SecurityIntelligence Organization, said the
rise in terrorist attacks and disrupted plots since Sept. 11, 2001, demonstrated the
extremist network has been able to carry on its activities.
"Despite successful disruption activities, al-Qaida appears to be rebuilding both its
organizational structures and operationalcapabilities from bases in the tribal regions
bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan, and networks in the Middle East, North Africa
and Western Europe," O'Sullivan said during a rare public speechto a security forum
in Sydney.
"However ill-founded and overwrought its world view, it is a learning and a teaching
organization, pushing the horizon for violent extremism," he added. "What makes
al-Qaida such a dangerous creature is its ability to marry ideological intensity with
organizational resilience and adaptability."
Australia, which maintains some 900 troops in Afghanistan, is one of several
countries blaming a recent rise in violence in the central Asian nation on increasing
attacks by al-Qaida and Taliban insurgents hiding in remote camps along Pakistan's
rugged northwestern border.
Pakistan, a key U.S. ally, insists it is doing all it can to secure its northern frontier,
and has sent some 90,000 troops to the region to try and block cross-border
incursions by al-Qaida militants.
Earlier this week, Pakistani intelligence officials said a missile attack launched from
Afghanistan destroyed a militant training camp in Pakistan killing more than 20
insurgents. Butthe Pakistani army said the explosions were triggered when bombs
the militants were making exploded accidentally.
Several raids on suspected terror targets in Pakistan have apparently been launched
from Afghanistan, though the U.S. and Pakistan rarely confirm their involvement in
such strikes.
O'Sullivan also lauded the recent arrest of two key Indonesian terror suspects, who
were caught with direct assistance from Australian and U.S. officials, but said there
was "no room for complacency" in Southeast Asia while fugitive Malaysian
terrorsuspect Noordin Top remained at large. (**)
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