Norman — The United States has al Qaeda on the run, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency said Monday during a visit to the University of Oklahoma.
But to keep from surrendering its lead against al Qaeda, the United States must remain vigilant in its terrorism blockade, CIA Director Leon Panetta said during a luncheon at OU’s Foreign Policy Conference.
“It’s about stopping and blocking them wherever they go,” said Panetta, adding that his agency constantly adjusts its tactics to maintain its lead because allowing al Qaeda to relocate would squander U.S. efforts to stonewall radical plots.
“We have a fundamental duty to provide warning and prevent surprise,” said Panetta, adding that this also refers to emerging threats in countries such as Brazil and India. That vigilance isn’t exclusive to hard targets such as the continued threat in Iran, he said. A perception of weakness could prompt other countries to follow Iran’s lead in the pursuit of nuclear weapons, Panetta said.
He’s not alone in his wariness. Before Panetta’s address, Marc Nuttle, a lawyer in Norman who used to work with the CIA, said Iran’s ability to provoke mischief is a continued worry for him, too.
Panetta said the only successful campaign for peace is a comprehensive strategy that crumbles operations of violent extremism.
“This is war and they will come at us any way they can,” said Panetta, explaining that the terrorists remain committed in their mission to kill as many Americans as possible.
As a result, Panetta said that as military fronts backaway, intelligence will stay, especially as al Qaeda strongholds spread to other regions such as North Africa and Yemen.
The director said there is evidence al Qaeda’s methods are becoming more elusive, as it taps into underground operatives he referred to as terrorists with “clean credentials” who don’t have a history of terrorism, making these under-the-radar terrorists harder to pin point.
And then, Panetta said there’s the lone wolf—individuals who act on their own to radicalize and take violent action, such as the shootings at Fort Hood, where al Qaeda is only an inspiration.
Panetta said that what keeps him wide-eyed at night is what he doesn’t know ... more particularly who he doesn’t know: Undocumented deployed terrorists in the United States.
“This means all of us must fight ... fight to protect this country,” Panetta said. “It doesn’t mean a damn thing unless we’re willing to fight.”
Earlier Monday, the chief Washington correspondent for the New York Times said the United States news media is guilty of what he called “punditocracy.”
Times reporter David Sanger said television news has become a shouting match with Fox News attracting conservatives and MSNBC giving news a liberal slant.
Asked about the future of print journalism, he said that next year, the Times is going to start charging for access to its Web page, which is now free.
Sanger said the test will be whether the Times can attract enough paid subscribers to keep the product afloat.
Meanwhile, Sanger said the U.S. preoccupation with Iraq has had worldwide implications because much of the rest of the world has been ignored by our leaders.
“The Chinese attitude is that its country is becoming powerful, and we are (losing) power,” Sanger said.
The newsman spoke Monday as part of a daylong conference on international policy at the University of Oklahoma.
Correspondent Mick Hinton contributed to this report.
