[StBernard] Sen. Landrieu Marks September 11th Anniversary

[Westley Annis]

Sen. Landrieu Marks
September 11th Anniversary
Requests intel progress report on hunt for bin Laden.

 

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., today reflected on the
terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, which killed at least 2,972 people
in New York's World Trade Center, the Pentagon and aboard United Flight 93,
which crashed near Shanksville, Penn.

"Six years after the horrific attacks of September 11th, we pause to
remember the lives lost and the inspiring bravery shown by first responders
and everyday Americans alike," said Sen. Landrieu. "Their sacrifice must
never be forgotten and the spirit of freedom our enemies sought to destroy
must never be diminished."

Sen. Landrieu has fought for renewed focus on dismantling the al Qaeda
terror network and its leadership, and today asked a key intelligence
official for a full status report on the hunt for the terror group's leader,
Osama bin Laden.  

"It is evident by even publicly-available accounts that the al Qaeda
leadership has been significantly disrupted, with seemingly autonomous
command structures developing in various locations around the world,
including in Iraq," Sen. Landrieu wrote in a letter to National
Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) Director John Scott Redd, Vice Admiral, USN
(Ret.).

"However, recently released videotapes make it equally clear that Osama bin
Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri and others have retained the capacity to evade
capture, plan new threats to the United States and communicate related
propaganda and potentially coded instructions to a mass audience of
followers."

Sen. Landrieu first offered legislation in July, blocked by partisan
opposition, which states that "it shall be the policy of the United States
Government that the foremost objective of the United States in the Global
War on Terror and in protecting the United States Homeland is to capture or
kill Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and other members of al Qaeda and
to destroy the al Qaeda network."

In her letter to Admiral Redd, the senator requested "a complete status
briefing" to take place at the NCTC in the coming weeks "regarding the
NCTC's efforts to capture or kill the senior al Qaeda leadership and disrupt
their terror network." 

She also inquired as to what additional resources would be needed to
complete this mission effectively and what negative impact has resulted from
the closing of the Central Intelligence Agency's Alec Station.  The al
Qaeda-hunting group was disbanded after the administration determined that
bin Laden no longer posed a threat, but would be reestablished under Sen.
Landrieu's proposal.  

She plans to reintroduce her measure as part of other upcoming legislation.

"We must recalibrate our mission to meter the appropriate justice to those
who attacked us on that day," Sen. Landrieu today said, noting that the
latest National Intelligence estimate reports that al Qaeda is "the most
serious terrorist threat to the Homeland, as its central leadership
continues to plan high-impact plots."

 "We cannot allow our own prioritization, or lack of it, to provide a
welcome sanctuary to our enemies," she added.

A copy of Sen. Landrieu's letter to Admiral Redd is attached.

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