Al Qaeda Cell May Be Loose in U.S., British Plot Hints - August 6, 2007 - The New York Sun

What an obvious statement - of course there are cells in the US! Even Leftists have to admit this, except when they are denying that terrorists are targeting the US at all.

Al Qaeda Cell May Be Loose in U.S., British Plot Hints - August 6, 2007 - The New York Sun: "Since the thwarted plot in London and Glasgow over the weekend of July 1, American intelligence officials have gone public with their concerns about a Qaeda presence in America. The secretary of homeland security, Michael Chertoff, said he had a 'gut feeling' on an increased risk of attack. More recently, the commander for Northern Command, the American military operational region that includes North America, Air Force General Victor Renuart told the Associated Press in an interview on July 25, 'I believe there are cells in the United States, or at least people who aspire to create cells in the United States.' He added, 'To assume that there are not those cells is naive and so we have to take that threat seriously.'

The heightened threat environment also played a role in the passage of a law Saturday evening to give the National Security Agency temporary authority for the next six months to conduct warrantless wiretaps against suspected al Qaeda contacts on American soil. On Friday, as Congress was still wrangling over the specifics of the changes to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the director of national intelligence, Admiral Michael McConnell, was unusually blunt about the threat. Commenting on the Democratic proposal that the White House rejected, Admiral McConnell said, "I must have certainty in order to protect the nation from attacks that are being planned today to inflict mass casualties on the United States.""