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Arrests of al-Qaeda Terrorists Disrupt Iraqi Attacks on U.S. NewsMax.com WiresWASHINGTON – Plans for a mass terrorist attack have reportedly been disrupted through the arrest of terror suspects, and U.S. officials plan to subvert other such threats by detaining suspected Iraqi agents should a war in Iraq begin. Two newspapers today reported the anti-terror moves. Al-Qaeda plans a series of smaller assaults, including assassination of political figures, before launching a large-scale attack, the Washington Times said. The Washington Post reported that the CIA and foreign intelligence agencies were tracking suspected Iraqi agents and planned to forestall any retaliatory acts should the United States go to war with Iraq. "We and our allies are bracing for a terrorist offensive, and we are keeping track of Iraqi intelligence officers around the world," the Post quoted a senior U.S. intelligence official as saying. Thousands of Iraqi Illegal Aliens The newspaper said allies were tracking suspected Iraqi agents in the Middle East, Europe, Asia and Africa. The FBI is reportedly searching for several thousand Iraqis, in the United States illegally, who are missing. Officials said the campaign stemmed from the suspicion that Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein would order terror-style assaults on U.S. interests should Iraq be attacked. The Post said CIA Director George Tenet sent Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., a letter that said Saddam "might decide that the extreme step of assisting Islamic terrorists in conducting a WMD [weapons of mass destruction] attack against the United States would be his last chance to exact vengeance by taking a large number of victims with him." The Times said recent intelligence reports showed that communications between cells of al-Qaeda operatives were picking up. The newspaper said the threat was included in reports sent to the White House last week. The warning did not say whether the main assault would be in the United States or some other country. "This attack will be large-scale," an unnamed intelligence official told the Times. Although details were not reported by the newspaper, it did say the main strike would come after smaller attacks, including assassinations. Copyright 2003 by United Press International. All rights reserved.
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