. The terrorists in Iraq have planned to hit us here. No big surprise. They will do it the moment they can get away with it.
The plot was discovered six months ago,
roughly the same time that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al Qaeda
in Iraq, was killed by coalition forces. Sources tell ABC News that the
suspects involved in the effort to launch the U.S. attack were closely
associated with Zarqawi.
The plan also came only months after Ayman al-Zawahiri, al Qaeda's
No. 2, had requested that Zarqawi attempt an attack inside the United
States.
"This appears to be the first hard evidence al Qaeda in Iraq was
trying to attack us here at home," said ABC News consultant Richard
Clarke, former chief counterterrorism adviser on the U.S. National
Security Council.