LeT bigger threat to US than Qaeda: US Intelligence

Lahore: The United States has expressed its concern over the presence of the outlawed terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba’s (LeT) on its soil.
US intelligence agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), are alarmed over evidence of continued LeT’s presence on US soil, including back-up cells in Pakistan, especially after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
According to sources, officials are of the view that LeT’s global nexus may prove more dangerous for the security of US than al-Qaeda.Former Deputy National Security Adviser for counter-terrorism, Juan Zarate also admitted that LeT has bases across the world, including the United States.
“We are and should be concerned about the threat LeT poses, given its global network. It doesn’t just reside in South Asia. It is an organisation that has potential reach all over the world, including the US,” The Daily Times quoted Zarate, as saying.Evidence available with the investigation agencies also prove that several young US residents have been trained in Lashkar’s camps, and they have returned to the US.
Reports show a Lashkar interest in several big, cities including New York, California, Georgia and other locations.FBI director, Robert Mueller had also viewed a possibility of a Mumbai-style commando attack in US by militants of less well-known terrorist groups. “They are merely an e-ticket away from the United States,” Mueller had said.
Chairman of the Obama administration’s Pakistan-Afghanistan strategy review council, Bruce Riedel has also expressed fears that a ‘global jihadist syndicate’ of disaffected young Pakistanis was the most likely mechanism for launching an attack on US soil.