The next phase in the US war on terrorism, once the leadership of al-Qaeda is captured, is likely to focus on the rooting out of the organisation's "sleeper cells" around the world rather than specifically the Iraqi threat, official sources have told the Washington Post.
Keen to dampen the rampant speculation in Washington that President Saddam Hussein is already in President Bush's sights, they have emphasised the continuing threat from al-Qaeda both in the US and in as many as 60 other countries.
"This is the most dangerous fact for American security right now," the paper quotes one source as saying.
Such a drive will use different means from those employed in Afghanistan but will plumb the intelligence networks which have been established with friendly and not-so-friendly countries since September 11th.
Such enhanced co-operation has already seen the US sending more military aid to the Philippines and Pakistan, much of it specifically targeted at the terrorism threat, while last week President Bush promised the Spanish Prime Minister, Mr Jose Maria Aznar, that he would send CIA and FBI agents to Spain to help the search for al-Qaeda members.
There has even been some speculation here that the US may be talking to once-pariah states like Yemen about assisting them with special forces training.
A senior administration official last week also called for the stepping up of intelligence links with Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines.
In the meantime, the search for Osama bin Laden continues, the noose tightening progressively, the Pentagon told journalists yesterday. And Vice-President Dick Cheney warned other countries against contemplating giving him shelter.
In an interview on ABC he warned: "He may depart for other territory, but that's not quite as easy as it would have been a few months ago. Anybody who contemplates providing sanctuary for bin Laden at this point has to keep in mind what happened to the Taliban when they did that."
Admiral John Stufflebeem said that US and opposition forces were doing what they could to cut lines of communication across the Pakistan border.
The US government last night issued a holiday-season warning of unspecified attacks and put Americans on high alert at home and abroad for the third time since the September 11th attacks.
"Now is not the time to back off," US Homeland Security Director, Mr Tom Ridge, said.
US intelligence and law enforcement agencies had picked up an increased number of threats in recent days, leading to the new warning to 18,000 law enforcement agencies around the nation, Mr Ridge said.
A US official said the threat was "al-Qaeda related,". The convergence of upcoming religious holidays, including the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in about two weeks, was a significant factor in issuing the new alert, Mr Ridge said.
"We do know that the next several weeks, which bring the final weeks of Ramadan and important religious observations in other faiths, have been times when terrorists have planned attacks in the past," he said.
US intelligence analysts have reported that threats monitored in recent days have been more numerous and credible than usual, crossing the threshold for issuing a public alert, Mr Ridge said. --(Reuters)
