Washington: Slain Al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden was looking to use the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks as another opportunity to strike the US, a top White House counter-terrorism official has said.
"We know from the material recovered from the Bin Laden compound that he was looking at the 10th anniversary of 9/11 as an opportunity to strike yet again at the US homeland," told Deputy National Security Advisor John Brennan.
"We know that Al Qaeda wants to try to hit us here in the homeland again; they have been thwarted numerous times," Brennan said.
He said the US on a high level of vigilance despite "tremendous work" on security issues since the September 11 attacks.
"But it's not just Al Qaeda; there are other groups that have taken up the mantle of Al Qaeda. So we are on our vigilance, and we have made a number of preparations," he said.
"Our intelligence agencies and law enforcement agencies have been very, very diligent in looking at all the different potential actors out there. We are - feel that we're on top of it right now," he said.
"So we are on our vigilance. And we have made a number preparations in anticipation of the 9/11 anniversary. But it's not going to stop on the 9/11 anniversary; we're going to maintain this vigilance and continue to do everything possible to protect the American people," Brennan added.
The top White House official said the US is "without a doubt," safer today than on September 11, 2001.
"This country now has become a much more difficult operational environment for Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups," he said.
Brennan said this country now has become a much more difficult operational environment for Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups - the measures that have been put in place, the better integration of intelligence and law enforcement and homeland security capabilities over the last decade.
He also said, "So both from the threat side as well as from the vulnerability side the advances that we've made over the past decade have been just very, very impressive across the board".
Brennan praised better interaction of government agencies and progress overseas for making the country safer.
"We also have worked very closely with our international partners. This is not just something the United States alone can address. So we have developed and enhanced our relationships with many different partner services overseas, building their capacity so they can do what they need to do to prevent those terrorists from coming here to the homeland," Brennan said.
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