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Intelligence officials say the nation is facing a heightened threat.

In a speech in New York, CIA Director Gen. Michael Hayden said analysts have “high confidence” that Bin Laden and deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri are “planning high-impact plots against the U.S.”
Hayden said, it’s “less certain” operatives have made it onto American soil but confirmed reports Al Qaeda is recruiting less-conspicuous fanatics to infiltrate the U.S.

“We do see them working to train people whom you and I wouldn’t raise an eyebrow about if they were getting off the plane with us at Kennedy [Airport],” Hayden said.

His comments came just days ahead of the sixth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks and as the US government said it was analysing a copy of the latest video message said to have been made by elusive al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.

“Our analysts assess with high confidence that al Qaeda’s central leadership is planning high impact plots against the American homeland,” Hayden told the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.

“Al Qaeda is focusing on targets that would produce mass casualties, dramatic destruction and significant economic aftershocks,” he added.

The bin Laden video, first reported on Friday by US officials monitoring militant websites, would be the first such appearance by the militant leader since October 2004, when he threatened new attacks on the United States.

“I want to be as clear as I can about the threat we face,” Hayden said, saying the Central Intelligence Agency would use “every inch we’re given” by the US government to wage the “war on terror” and hunt down militants.

“We bear responsibility for standing watch on this threat,” he said. “Our nation is in a state of armed conflict with al Qaeda and its affiliates. It’s a conflict that is global in scope,” he added.