Which, among other things, means al-Qaeda is, at least geographically speaking, that much closer to a nuclear bomb. “Petraeus: Al Qaeda No Longer Operating in Afghanistan,” from Fox News, May 10:
Gen. David Petraeus says affiliated organizations still have “enclaves and sanctuaries” in the country. The head of U.S. Central Command said Sunday that Al Qaeda is no longer operating in Afghanistan, with its senior leadership having moved to the western region of Pakistan.
Gen. David Petraeus said affiliated groups have “enclaves and sanctuaries” in Afghanistan and that “tentacles of Al Qaeda” have touched countries throughout the Middle East and northern Africa. But he said the terrorist group has suffered” very significant losses” in recent months.
Still, he said he believes Usama bin Laden and his No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahiri remain in charge of the terrorist network.
“They surface periodically. We see communications that they send out,” Petraeus said.
Though Petraeus said nobody can provide an accurate location for either terrorist, he said Al Qaeda senior leadership clearly is rooted in the border region of western Pakistan.
“There’s no question that Al Qaeda’s senior leadership has been there and has been in operation for years,” Petraeus said…