[…] People in America and many other Western nations have expressed strong disapproval of bin Laden and al-Qaeda since the Sept. 11 attacks. What's new is the dramatic decline in his standing in majority-Muslim countries. Polls in the two nations that have suffered some of the worst of al-Qaeda's violence -- Afghanistan and Iraq -- show that more than 90 percent of those populations have unfavorable views of al-Qaeda and of bin Laden himself.

[…] National Intelligence Estimates are produced for the government's most senior officials and represent the consensus of top intelligence analysts from the 16 agencies that make up the U.S. government's intelligence community. The reports are on long-term security issues and are not linked to specific threats. Portions of the documents occasionally are declassified for public release to explain pressing policy issues to the general public.

[…] Victims from more than 80 countries were killed in the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, Bush said, a tragedy which since has been replayed in Mombasa, Kenya; Casablanca, Morocco; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Jakarta, Indonesia; Istanbul, Turkey; London; Amman, Jordan, Madrid, Spain; Beslan, Russia; Bali, Indonesia; Algiers, Algeria, and elsewhere.

[…] First, the report declares that al-Qaida and its affiliates, though weakened, remain “the most immediate national security threat to the United States.” This is in part due to a shift in tactics, such as increased use of local groups operating in al-Qaida's name. Second, state sponsors of terrorism, such as Iran and Syria, continued contributing arms, training, funding, and other support to terrorists across the region in 2006. Cuba, North Korea and Sudan are also identified as state sponsors of terrorism in the report.

[…] It really speaks to the strength of this country, doesn't it, that total strangers here in Ohio are willing to hold up people in Virginia in prayer. And I thank you for that. And my message to the folks who still hurt in -- at Virginia Tech is that a lot of people care about you, and a lot of people think about you, a lot of people grieve with you, and a lot of people hope you find sustenance in a power higher than yourself. And a lot of us believe you will.

[…] “We are deeply committed to ensuring that those who deserve humanitarian relief from our immigration system receive it, and that America continues to be a beacon of hope and protection for the persecuted,” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said in a January announcement that he planned to use discretionary authority to permit consideration of applications for refugee or asylum status for some groups that, under duress, might have provided assistance to terrorist organizations.

[…] The United States is working with more than 70 countries to secure and dispose of dangerous nuclear and radiological materials that could be used covertly by terrorists and state sponsors of terrorism in an attack or blackmail effort. During a recent congressional hearing, Lieutenant General Michael Maples, the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, said al-Qaeda seeks to acquire nuclear weapons capability. Analysts do not believe they have achieved that goal yet, he said.

[…] Terrorism remains the top threat to U.S. security, and al-Qaida, which is rebuilding itself and strengthening its ties to affiliated groups in the Middle East, Africa and Europe, is the intelligence community’s pre-eminent challenge, they said. Although conventional explosives are the terrorist’s weapon of choice, Maples warned that intelligence agencies receive reports that al-Qaida continues to seek chemical, biological and nuclear weapons for use in future attacks.

[…] On February 14, a Saudi wing of al-Qaida posted an announcement on an Internet site threatening to “hit oil interests in all regions which serve the United States, not just in the Middle East,” with a goal to “cut its supplies or reduce them through any means." It specifically threatened Canada, Venezuela and Mexico. “We have to take it seriously because al-Qaida has a track record of announcing things and fulfilling them,” Fernandez said. “There is enough evidence for concern without exaggerating it.”

[…] “As commander in chief, my highest priority is the security of the nation,” Bush said in a letter introducing the White House’s 2008 funding request. “My budget invests substantial resources to fight the Global War on Terror and ensure our homeland is protected from those who would do us harm.” The White House is seeking $294.8 billion to fund global counterterrorism operations, including $99.6 billion for fiscal year 2007, $145.2 billion in 2008 and $50 billion in 2009.

[…] “You can’t put that genie back in the bottle once a weapon of mass destruction or a nuclear bomb gets into the hands of a terrorist,” Chertoff said in a January 26 panel discussion at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
Terrorism is high on the forum’s agenda this year. It constitutes one of the top threats to global security, according to a survey of international business and political leaders attending the event.

[…] The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 requires the secretary of the treasury to determine if reporting of such transfers is necessary and feasible. One approach would require all cross-border transfers above a certain limit to be reported to the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). The Treasury estimates the measure could result in half a billion financial reports per year.

[…] The first U.S. goal for Somalia is to work within the Transitional Federal Charter, which is recognized by the United Nations as the framework for restoring governance to Somalia, Frazer said. The United States wants civil-society groups to join with clans and sub-clans to establish a nationwide system of government for the first time in more than 15 years. “That’s our ultimate aim,” Frazer said. The Transitional Federal Government, she stressed “is transitional.

[…] As an example, the legal adviser said the accused can appeal to the Circuit Court in the District of Columbia and even pursue an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

But that might not be necessary, he said, because the U.S. system of military justice has a long and honorable tradition “worthy of respect in both its design and … function.” Bellinger said judges adjudicating cases in the military system are even “more independent and less political than federal judges.”

[…] Exploiting these divisions within Iraqi society, he said, remains central to the terrorists’ goal of derailing the democracy supported by the Iraqi people in two nationwide elections and a constitutional referendum. Since October 2004, Caldwell reported, coalition forces have killed or captured more than 7,000 members of al-Qaida in Iraq, including 30 senior leaders since July of this year. Those questioned by Iraqi and coalition forces have outlined a three-point strategy to stop Iraq’s progress.