Reply #1: Don't tell "the president," we all need to keep pretending his "war on terror" is working...

[Up2Late]

...and then we'll be just fine. Ignorance is bliss! :sarcasm:

Here's the AP report that they were freaking out about on MSNBC tonight:

Jul 12, 4:57 AM EDT

Al-Qaida has rebuilt, U.S. intel warns

By MATTHEW LEE and KATHERINE SHRADER
Associated Press Writers

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A new threat assessment from U.S. counterterrorism analysts says that al-Qaida has used its safe haven along the Afghan-Pakistan border to restore its operating capabilities to a level unseen since the months before Sept. 11, 2001.

A counterterrorism official familiar with a five-page summary of the document - titled "Al-Qaida better positioned to strike the West" - called it a stark appraisal. The analysis will be part of a broader meeting at the White House on Thursday about an upcoming National Intelligence Estimate. The official and others spoke to The Associated Press on condition they not be identified because the report remains classified.

The findings suggests that the network that launched the most devastating terror attack on U.S. soil has been able to regroup despite nearly six years of bombings, war and other tactics aimed at dismantling it. The threat assessment focuses on the terror group's safe haven in Pakistan and makes a range of observations about the threat posed to the United States and its allies, officials said.

Counterterrorism officials have been increasingly concerned about al-Qaida's recent operations. This week, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said he had a "gut feeling" that the United States faced a heightened risk of attack this summer. Still, numerous government officials say they know of no specific, credible threat of a new attack on U.S. soil. Al-Qaida is "considerably operationally stronger than a year ago" and has "regrouped to an extent not seen since 2001," the counterterrorism official said, paraphrasing the report's conclusions. "They are showing greater and greater ability to plan attacks in Europe and the United States."

(more at link) <http://staging.hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_TERROR_THREAT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2007-07-12-04-57-23>