Terrorist attempt ‘certain’ within months

The five senior leaders of the U.S. intelligence community told a Senate panel Tuesday they are “certain” that terrorists will attempt another attack on the United States in the next three to six months.

The warning came during the annual threat briefing to Congress in response to questions from Sen. Dianne Feinstein, California Democrat and chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, who asked, “What is the likelihood of another terrorist-attempted attack on the U.S. homeland in the next three to six months? High or low?”

“An attempted attack, the priority is certain, I would say,” Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair, a retired admiral, said in response.

Four other intelligence agency leaders who appeared at the hearing with Mr. Blair said they agreed with the assessment.

They included CIA Director Leon E. Panetta, FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III, Lt. Gen. Ronald L. Burgess Jr., the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, and John Dinger, the acting assistant secretary of state for intelligence and research.

Mr. Blair outlined the major threats facing the United States, in addition to a possible terrorist attack. They include:

• The threat of major attacks on U.S. computer networks and infrastructure.

• The increasingly dangerous Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan.

• Instability in nuclear-armed Pakistan.

• Iranian and North Korean missile and nuclear programs.

• China’s military buildup.

• Efforts by the anti-U.S. government of Venezuela to develop closer ties with Iran, China and Russia.

The warning about the threat of another attempted attack, like the failed Christmas Day bombing of a Northwest Airlines jet, was in keeping with the sober public assessment of threats outlined last year by Mr. Blair.

“In our judgment, al Qaeda also retains the capability to recruit, train, and deploy operatives to mount some kind of an attack against the homeland,” according to his written testimony.

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