A declaration for all time

Our country's founding document retains its genius even as the times, and our values, change.

July 4, 2010

The story of the Declaration of Independence has been mined so deeply and disseminated so widely that most of the myths surrounding it have long since been dispelled. It was not, we now know, on the 4th of July, 1776, that Americans declared their independence, but on the 2nd of July — when the Second Continental Congress formally resolved that the colonies ought to be independent and that bonds to the British Crown should be dissolved (leading John Adams to write to his wife that July 2 would henceforth be celebrated by Americans as their "Day of Deliverance" and "solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other").

The Declaration itself was signed two days later, but, frankly, many considered it a not terribly important document, more "dress and ornament rather than Body, Soul or Substance," as Adams put it. It took months before an official copy arrived in Europe (the original dispatched by the Congress got lost), according to historian Pauline Maier, and in the decades that followed, it did not stand out for most Americans as the classic statement of their national principles. A British parliamentarian, admittedly biased, called it "a wretched composition, very ill written, drawn up with a view to captivate the people."

One reason it didn't immediately take its rightful place in history may be that it was viewed very differently then than it is now. Indeed, even Thomas Jefferson, when he drafted it, didn't see it as fundamentally about liberty or equality or the rights of man, as we do today. His focus, says Maier, was less on individuals than on colonial grievances and the prerogative of the people, collectively, to "alter and abolish" any government that failed to represent them or to ensure their safety and happiness.

It was only years later that the first sentence of the second paragraph came to be seen as the central idea — the sentence declaring that "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

Today, with King George's misrule largely forgotten or forgiven, it is those two key concepts — liberty and equality — that continue to both guide and bedevil Americans. On the face of it, and especially in Jefferson's eloquent words, they seem such clear, fundamental principles, yet 234 years later, there is still vehement disagreement about what they mean and how to apply them. Think of the issues raised at the contentious confirmation hearings of Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan last week. Just how much liberty is guaranteed by the Constitution's 4th Amendment ban on unreasonable searches and seizures? Does the freedom to speak one's mind extend to the right to counsel terrorist groups? Should judges, in their effort to guarantee equal justice, feel a special solicitude for the "despised and disadvantaged"? When may the government seize private property? Could Congress pass a law mandating that Americans must eat their fruits and vegetables?

Each of those is really a question about how far liberty ought to extend, or how equality can most fairly be defined. In case after case this year, the Supreme Court, too, turned and turned those concepts of liberty and equality in its hands. Are corporations entitled to the same 1st Amendment free speech guarantees as individuals? That was the question in the troubling Citizens United decision, which permitted companies to spend unlimited sums to influence elections. In McDonald vs. Chicago, the court considered whether the right to bear arms is one of the core liberties of U.S. citizens or whether guns, as Justice John Paul Stevens put it, "have a fundamentally ambivalent relationship to liberty."

For Congress, for President Obama, for governors and legislators, these debates loom large as well. Indeed, what's so inspiring about this country is that so many years after the revolution, our leaders — when they're not pandering for partisan advantage or airing attack ads or flying off on junkets or defending special interests or sleeping with their staffers — are still feverishly debating the bedrock questions that engaged the founders in the Declaration, the Federalist Papers, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Even voters themselves are asked to wrestle regularly with these enormous philosophical questions. Voters in California, for example, squarely addressed the subject of equality in 2008 when they chose — wrongly, in the view of this page — not to allow same-sex marriage. They'll consider the limits of liberty later this year when they're asked to decide whether Californians should be allowed to smoke marijuana legally.

Disagreements over the scope of liberty and equality run as deep today as they did in Jefferson's day. But the fact that there's still so much debate, and so many new circumstances to which those basic precepts must be applied, deals a heavy blow to the arguments of the strict constructionists and original intenters, who seem to believe that all questions about American law can be answered by imagining that we still live in the 1700s or by trying to intuit what the country's founders would have thought.

The reality is that times change and values change. The text of the Constitution and of the Declaration and the context in which they were written are important, but so is the subsequent evolution of the country. The founders may have been slaveholders, but over time, the three-fifths compromise gave way to "separate but equal," which in turn gave way to Brown vs. Board of Education, which held that segregation was inherently unequal. Similarly, the 1st Amendment, written when those who owned printing presses held a monopoly on speech, now must be retrofitted to include text messages and cloud-based e-mail and Facebook.

The brilliance of America's guiding principles lies, ultimately, in their breadth, flexibility and resiliency, which allow them to be endlessly reexamined, reinterpreted and, ultimately, reaffirmed. Abraham Lincoln, an especially fervent devotee of the Declaration of Independence, understood that when he wrote in 1859: "All honor to Jefferson — to the man who, in the concrete pressure of a struggle for national independence by a single people, had the coolness, forecast and capacity to introduce into a merely revolutionary document, an abstract truth, applicable to all men and all times, and so embalm it there, that today and in all coming days, it shall be a rebuke and a stumbling block to the very harbingers of reappearing tyranny and oppression."

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-declaration-20100704,0,4369299,print.story

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Roman Polanski extradition decision to come soon, Swiss official says

The Swiss government is moving closer to a decision about whether to extradite filmmaker Roman Polanski back to Los Angeles to face sentencing on his conviction for having sex with a 13-year-old girl more than 30 years ago.

A Swiss justice ministry official told the SonntagsZeitung newspaper that colleagues were close to making a decision but would not say when it would occur. The officials said Polanski would be able to appeal that decision.

Polanski, 76, was arrested in Switzerland last year on a warrant from the L.A. district attorney's office and has since been living under house arrest at his posh Alpine chalet. He is fighting extradition, and his attorneys have suggested that he could be sentenced in Switzerland rather than in L.A. Prosecutors say the filmmaker faces up to two years in state prison.

Swiss officials have said they were waiting for Polanski to exhaust his legal appeals in Los Angeles before making a decision on extradition.

In his first public statement, Polanski said in May that his possible extradition to the United States was an attempt by authorities "to serve me on a platter to the media of the world."

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/07/roman-polanski-extradition-decision-to-come-soon-swiss-official-says.html#more

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From Google News

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Mr Xue says interrogators burned his arms with cigarettes

China jails US geologist for stealing state secrets July 5, 2010 A Chinese-born American geologist has been sentenced to eight years in jail in China for stealing state secrets. Xue Feng, 44, was detained in 2007 after negotiating the sale of an oil industry database to his employers, an American consultancy company. Mr Xue said the information he had acquired about China's oil industry was publicly available. He claimed he had been tortured while in detention. The US embassy said it was "dismayed" and called for his immediate release.

Mr Xue's crime was to arrange the sale of an openly available database about China's largely state-controlled oil industry to his US consulting firm IHS Energy, now known as IHS inc.

The geologist has claimed that interrogators burned his arms with cigarettes and hit him on the head with an ashtray.

The US Ambassador to China, Jon Huntsman, was at court for the sentencing, in a show of high-level US concern over the case.

The embassy later issued a statement saying it was dismayed and urged China to grant Mr Xue "humanitarian release and immediately deport him".

Three Chinese nationals were also sentenced for illegally providing intelligence abroad.

Li Yongbo was sentenced to six years in jail, and Chen Mengjin and Li Dongxu were both given two-and-a-half-year sentences.

The BBC's Damian Grammaticas in Beijing says that after this case foreign businesses in China are likely to tread even more warily when dealing with information about state firms.

Draft regulations released by China's government earlier this year defined business information held by state firms as state secrets.

Legal observers have also voiced concern that China's courts are ignoring legal procedures when dealing with sensitive cases.

In Xue Feng's case the two-and-a-half-years it has taken to reach a verdict they say breaches China's own legal time limits.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/asia_pacific/10505350.stm

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Obama hails troops, wishes America and daughter Malia happy birthday at White House

by Bill Hutchinson

DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Monday, July 5th 2010, 4:00 AM

Representatives of all five branches of the U.S. military ate hot dogs and hamburgers on the South Lawn of the White House as the President said they had earned their place among "the greatest of generations."

With First Lady Michelle Obama at his side, Obama implored all Americans to "make sure our troops always have the support they need."

He welcomed the more than 1,200 guests to the White House on behalf of his wife, his two daughters and First Family dog Bo.

Birthday girl Malia turned 12 Sunday.

"All across our great country today folks are coming together, decked out in the red, white and blue, firing up the grill, having a good time with family," Obama said.

"Now, of course, I'll admit, that the backyard's a little bigger here, but it's the same spirit," he said.

Obama joked that a corporal wore a black suit to the shindig despite being told to dress casually.

"I said, 'Man, it's hot here,'" Obama said. "He said, 'I'm sorry sir, I know you're my commander in chief, but my grandmother told me I had to wear a suit.'"

Obama noted that Vice President Biden was visiting troops in Iraq for the holiday.

"Because of the honor and heroism of our troops, we are poised to end our combat mission in Iraq this summer, on schedule. That's thanks to so many of you," Obama said to cheers.

Reading from the Declaration of Independence, Obama said, "234 years later, the words are just as bold, just as revolutionary as they were when they were first pronounced."

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2010/07/05/2010-07-05_bday_wishes_to_us_malia_prez_hails_troops_kid_at_white_house.html

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Ray: Arizona's tougher immigration law will affect Utah, too

CLINTON -- Utah can expect to see more illegal immigrants when Arizona's law goes into effect, a local lawmaker says.

The illegal immigrants "in Arizona are coming to Utah because of Arizona's law," said Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clinton. "They're moving to Colorado and Idaho. We're going to see an influx of people here within the next 30 to 60 days."

That influx has Ray worried because it could mean a greater drain on Utah's resources. Utahns will pay for those who go to emergency rooms for health problems without insurance. More children could enter the school system. Utah schools are required to educate everyone whether they are here legally or not, he said.

Ray recently visited Arizona with Utah House Speaker David Clark and Rep. Stephen Sandstrom, R-Orem. Ray spent a day on horseback with ranchers to see what the problems are.

He is planning on co-sponsoring a bill with Sandstrom that will be similar to Arizona's law, which is expected to toughen enforcement against illegal immigrants.

Arizona's law requires police to question a person's status if they don't appear to be legally in the country.

Ray said what he saw is disturbing.

"On the ranch we were on in a normal week 600 to 1,000 illegal immigrants are coming across the property, bringing trash and using up the water resources," Ray said. "It's dangerous."

Ray, who serves on the American Legislative Exchange Council and is the chairman of the task force for public safety and homeland security, said protection along the border is almost non-existent.

The council is a nonpartisan membership association for conservative state lawmakers who share a common belief in limited government, free markets, federalism and individual liberty, according to its website.

Ray said he also spent a day talking to border patrol officers.

A surprising fact he learned was that the patrol agents are "extremely frustrated with current policies because it restricts them," Ray said.

One of the restrictions includes terminating foot chases of those who cross the border illegally if the person gets 300 feet over the border.

Officers have access to unmanned aerial vehicles but cannot fly them due to restrictions imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration, he said.

Ray said he is also concerned with the number of deaths associated with crossing the border.

Murders are common on the Mexico side of the border. The Mexican drug cartels have taken control of the corridors, he said, and require payment from those who want to cross the borders.

Ray said it's time for the U.S. to make it easier and quicker for immigrants from all over the world to enter the country legally.

"But first you got to close the border down first, then work on immigration reform."

http://www.standard.net/topics/national/2010/07/04/ray-arizonas-tougher-immigration-law-will-affect-utah-too

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In Hub, 27 celebrate their long journeys to citizenship

By Kathleen Burge, Globe Staff  

July 5, 2010

Lisa Anne O'Connor Dalton first saw Boston from the water a decade ago, when she sailed into the city as a crew member on one of the Tall Ships that had crossed the Atlantic. She fell for Boston, hard, and came back as soon as she could. Seven years ago, as her father was dying in Ireland, he made her promise to continue sailing in America.

Yesterday, the paralegal who also teaches blind children and adults to sail found herself on another ship: the USS Constitution, where she and 26 other immigrants officially became American citizens. O'Connor Dalton, whose team of blind and sighted sailors won a bronze medal in last year's Blind Sailing World Championship Regatta, was accompanied by her husband, John Dalton, a man from Ireland whom she met in America.

“It couldn't be any more fitting,'' O'Connor Dalton said yesterday, a few minutes before she and her fellow immigrants climbed aboard Old Ironsides. “I sail beside her all the time.''

Yesterday, on the deck of the world's oldest commissioned warship that is still afloat, on the birthday of the country, the country's newest citizens — 17 women and 10 men from 20 countries — were the guests of honor. They included a young Moroccan woman who won a visa through the green card lottery and now works as a housekeeper in a Boston hotel; a Brazilian woman from Medford who just finished basic training in the Army National Guard; a Wellesley College human rights leader and Harvard Law School graduate from Sri Lanka; and a husband and wife, born in India, who met at the University of Southern California and now live with their son in Newton.

The immigrants came from Barbados, Brazil, Cameroon, Cape Verde, China, France, Guyana, India, Ireland, Indonesia, Kenya, Liberia, Malaysia, Morocco, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, Somalia, Sri Lanka, and the United Kingdom.

Once they were pronounced official citizens, no one grinned more broadly than Lorraine Smith of Belmont, who moved to the United States from Liberia with her family when she was a toddler. Although her parents became citizens, Smith never thought much about it.

“I wasn't strongly motivated mostly because I grew up here, I attended college here, I joined the military all without being a citizen,'' she said. But in 2008, as Barack Obama became the first African-American elected president, Smith felt otherwise. “I didn't vote last time and that really bothered me,'' she said.

The history-steeped ceremony took place on the deck of the USS Constitution, where the immigrants repeated an oath of allegiance, promising to defend the Constitution and the laws of the United States against enemies, renouncing allegiance to all foreign leaders and sovereignties, and agreeing to bear arms on behalf of their new country when required by law.

“The most moving part of the ceremony is the oath of allegiance, because it's the same oath that we've had for 200 years-plus,'' said Denis Riordan, the regional director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services. “It's the same oath that my mother and father took, who were natives of Ireland.''

Riordan's parents became US citizens in the 1950s. He attended three naturalization ceremonies yesterday, starting the morning in Northampton and ending the day in Manchester, N.H. “People have asked me if these ceremonies ever get old or matter-of-fact,'' he said. “And they don't.''

The swearing-in ceremony was one of 55 across the country around Independence Day to naturalize about 3,800 citizens. Some of them, including nine at the Charlestown ceremony, are members of the US military.

O'Connor Dalton and her husband, who live in Hull, were living in America when their fathers died. Her father didn't tell his daughter that he was terminally ill because he didn't want to uproot her from her new home.

“It's amazing,'' O'Connor Dalton said. “We've worked for 10 years, missing families. A lot of heartache over 10 years.''

Dalton also applied to become a citizen. His ceremony will take place this fall in Fenway Park.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/07/05/in_hub_27_celebrate_their_long_journeys_to_citizenship?mode=PF

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4th of July quotes: Independence Day quotes that move the Nation July 4, 2010 The Fourth of July signifies the Independence of the American Colonies from Great Britian's rule.  Being such an important symbol and holiday for the United States, there have been many moving quotes that have been said about the holiday through history.  Here are some of the most famous quotes of the 4th of July. “Freedom is nothing but a chance to be better.”   – Albert Camus “Then join hand in hand, brave Americans all! By uniting we stand, by dividing we fall.” – John Dickenson “This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.” – Elmer Davis

“Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves” – Abraham Lincon

“We on this continent should never forget that men first crossed the Atlantic not to find soil for their ploughs but to secure liberty for their souls.”   – Robert J. McCracken

“The American Revolution was a beginning, not a consummation.” – Woodrow Wilson

“In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved.” – Franklin Roosevelt

“I love my freedom.  I love my America.”  – Jessi Lane Adams

It's important to remember the meaning behind Independence Day, and to have to happy Independence day with the ones you cherish.  Many will be watching fireworks displays while others will be barbecuing.  The quotes of those before can help Americans in the present remember the significance of Independence Day, and the true meaning of freedom.

http://www.mensspot.com/entertainment/4th-of-july-quotes-independence-day-quotes-that-move-the-nation/985/

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From Fox News

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Painting the Town 'Red'? More Russian Spies in U.S. Now More Than Ever, Report Says

The Russians are coming? The Russians are here, according to the N.Y. Post.

America is infested with more Russian spies than at any point in history, say former intelligence agents who spoke with The Post.

"I would say there are a few thousand here," said Boris Korczak, a former double agent who worked for the CIA, spying on the KGB from 1973-1980.

That's because each mole is a long shot, and the Russians want to maximize their odds. "Out of 1,000 spies, one or two will perform, will get access to our nuclear secrets," Korczak said, according to the N.Y. Post.

"The current atmosphere in the US is that we're having a love affair with Russia, that the Cold War is over," agreed Eugene Poteat, a retired senior CIA operative who served from 1960-1990. "But there are more Russian spies here now than during the Cold War."

Among the 10 accused Russian spies taken into custody last week is Anna Chapman, 28, a flame-haired bombshell who, unsurprisingly, has attracted the most attention. She is currently being held in solitary confinement in a federal prison in Brooklyn and her lawyer, Robert Baum, told The Post that she is "very unaware" of the media frenzy she's sparked.

Chapman, a Russian native who once said her father was a high-ranking member of the KGB, spent her time in New York City circulating among rich and powerful men. In 2002, she married a British student named Alex Chapman, now 30. They divorced in 2006, after she began spending a lot of time without him and with her "Russian friends" instead.

Once in New York, she allegedly began dating a politically connected businessman from New Jersey named Michael Bittan. He refused to comment.

Click here for more on this story from the N.Y. Post .

Van der Sloot files suit against first lawyer, charging her with posing as public defender

LIMA, Peru (AP) — Joran van der Sloot has sued the lawyer who represented him during a police interrogation on the day that authorities say the Dutchman confessed to killing a Peruvian woman, his current attorney said Saturday.

Maximo Altez told The Associated Press he filed suit Friday charging attorney Luz Romero Chinchay with misrepresentation, abuse of authority and conspiracy to commit a crime. Altez said the initial lawyer "pretended to be a public advocate when she is actually a private attorney."

"We have searched the name of Luz Romero Chinchay in the list of public defenders provided by the Ministry of Justice and her name was not on that list. We do not know why the police called this lawyer. We want to know who paid for her because my client did not," Altez said.

Under Peruvian law, a crime suspect who does not have private counsel is provided with a public defender who works for the Ministry of Justice.

Altez said he also has filed suit charging the same offenses against Col. Miguel Canlla, chief of the police homicide squad, who led the interrogation of Van der Sloot.

Neither Romero Chinchay nor Canlla could be reached for comment.

A motion by Van der Sloot seeking to throw out his confession was dismissed June 25. Van der Sloot recanted the confession in a jailhouse interview with the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, claiming it was made under duress.

On the night of June 7, police announced that Van der Sloot had confessed to the murder of Stephany Flores on May 30 in his Lima hotel room. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 15 to 35 years in prison.

Van der Sloot also remains the sole suspect in the unresolved 2005 disappearance of U.S. teen Natalee Holloway on the Caribbean island of Aruba.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/07/03/van-der-sloot-files-suit-lawyer-charging-posing-public-defender/print

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Uncle Sam Wants You to Have an Online ID

The White House's 'smart ID' plan could turn e-commerce upside down--but are consumers and businesses ready for such a radical change?  As our daily interactions and transactions have become increasingly “wired,” we have yet to see any truly comprehensive attempts at securing online identities. 

Our complex system of usernames and passwords is astoundingly outdated and increasingly prone to security breaches and theft. Yet, so far it has been mostly up to the individual to protect himself against various forms of identity fraud—with larger corporations taking relatively little responsibility. 

But this could change in a big way. Right now the federal government is proposing a new system being referred to as the “Identity Ecosystem”—which was highlighted in the recently-released draft paper, “ National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace ” [NSTIC]. 

The Identity Ecosystem would allow Americans to choose to obtain a single authenticated ID for online transactions. Like a passport, this single ID could travel with them online and be used to access everything from e-mail, to online health records and banking information. Furthermore, the Identity Ecosystem would only reveal the least amount of information necessary for each transaction. 

To highlight the potential consumer benefits of such a system, the White House's proposal uses the example of an individual filling a prescription online. Under the “smart ID card,” the pharmacy would only receive proof that the individual is over 18 and that the prescription is valid. No other information like birth date or the reason for the prescription. 

Right now the only online ID management options available to consumers are tools like OpenID and Microsoft's U-Prove. While these systems work across a variety of popular platforms such as Google (GOOG), Yahoo (YHOO) and Blogger, they are best used for cases of low-assurance clearance (i.e., personal e-mail and social networking sites). So-called “high-assurance” sites, like banking and health services, aren't set up to support wide-access systems; they present too much of a liability. 

What's important to note is that membership in the smart ID program would be voluntary—both for consumers and companies. Individuals who wanted to become members might apply for a smart identity card through their state government. Because the program is voluntary, the government is stressing the importance of consumer confidence, education and usability. 

It's easy to see why consumers would benefit from an easy-to-use, secure and universal system. What's harder to understand is the overall impact on e-commerce.

This program could eliminate the biggest obstacle to the e-commerce industry:  fear of identity theft and fraud, which could literally lead to billions of dollars in new online spending. It could also jumpstart health e-commerce, a market that has yet to take off because of serious privacy and security risks.

But the costs associated with implementing such a system would likely be enormous. The NSTIC has anticipated some kickback and will be offering businesses incentives such as tax credits/breaks, insurance, grants and loans for early adoption. 

However, the question is: Are these incentives enough?

Although the NSTIC proposal is somewhat vague on this issue, the government will have to be prepared to work with the hardware industry in order to ensure that smart-card readers, scanners, etc. are integrated with standard systems. Obviously, consumers that adopt such a system with their existing hardware will need to somehow upgrade their systems. It will certainly require a lot of negotiations within the industry, as the government may run into disputes over patent ownership between companies with conflicting interests. In order to integrate the system into existing sites, companies will need to pour money and resources into writing code to integrate an ecosystem with existing Web assets.  And it is tantamount to their task that Web developers avoid security blunders in the process. 

Consider how long it has taken us to get this far - and it's easy to see how challenging it will be to teach common users how to successfully utilize an ecosystem that controls all of your online authentication with various “user-controlled” settings.

Should this system be implemented, consumers must be prepared for a “new” experience and accept that convenience over security can no longer be their daily mantra. 

Implementing such a comprehensive system will be tough—and requires widespread and fairly immediate support. The government must be able to win over consumers and businesses at the same time—or the Identity Ecosystem is likely to become a chicken-egg problem—with consumers unwilling to join a program that businesses aren't a part of, and vice versa.

Furthermore, many modern services are complex. Take for instance online health: this would require the collaboration of doctors, hospitals, insurance providers, pharmacies and individuals.

 The bottom line here is that the White House's proposal depends on businesses voluntarily agreeing to turn the current e-commerce system upside down, incur massive new costs and collaborate with competitors – a dim possibility, to say the least. 

Although the White House should be applauded for this idea, it is doubtful that such a voluntary approach is likely to win over the big companies who will end up footing the bill or passing it on to consumers. 

The private industry has been trying to enact this type of online assurance model for some time now, and with little success. It is far more likely that the White House will have to work with Congress to legislate this type of a reform. 

Jay Bavisi is president and co-founder of the International Council of E-Commerce Consultants (EC-Council ), a global organization that researches, consults and provides training on issues of e-commerce and cybersecurity. Jay is a regularly featured speaker at e-commerce and cybersecurity conferences in the U.S., Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2010/07/02/uncle-sam-wants-online-id/print

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Analysis: US officials cite synergy of terrorists with 'expanding desire to kill Americans'

WASHINGTON

U.S. officials boast that al-Qaida has never been weaker, its upper ranks decimated because of the stepped-up drone attacks in Pakistan and special operations raids in Afghanistan.

At the same time, they warn, in seeming contradiction: An even greater number of well-trained terrorists are setting their sights on the United States.

Across the remote tribal lands between Afghanistan and Pakistan where terror groups hide, U.S. officials say they've seen a fusion of al-Qaida and others targeted by U.S. forces, including the Haqqani group and the Pakistani Taliban, who formerly focused only on their local areas.

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the groups have become a "synergy of terrorist groups" with "an expanding desire to kill Americans." He was speaking last week at the Aspen Institute security forum in Colorado.

At the same forum, National Counterterrorism Center Director Michael Leiter warned that the "troubling alignment" extends all the way to Yemen and Africa. The dispersed network is making terror plots harder to spot and prevent, he said.

The officials are speaking publicly in an effort to convince the American public — and U.S. ally Pakistan — that the time to hit harder is now, while al-Qaida is weakened. Failure to do that means an even stronger enemy, they argue.

A high-level U.S. counterterrorist delegation is headed to Pakistan this week to try to persuade Pakistan to keep the pressure on the militant groups that now operate almost as one with al-Qaida. The Pakistani government has denied news reports that it has reached out to its former ally, the Haqqani tribe, to secure its participation in talks with the Afghan government. U.S. officials want to make sure that remains the case.

The other part of that administration message, that the campaign has diminished the al-Qaida leadership, is aimed at an American public increasingly weary of the 9-year-old war. In June, at least 60 U.S. troops were killed in Afghanistan, making it one of the deadliest months of the conflict. Polls now find a majority of Americans no longer think the Afghanistan war is worth fighting.

Purely by the numbers, al-Qaida has been devastated by the past 18 months of drone attacks and raids, Leiter said. Although Osama bin Laden remains at large, half of al-Qaida's leadership has been killed in the past year, he said.

The organization is down to only 50 to a 100 "card-carrying" members inside Afghanistan and roughly 300 operatives in Pakistan, he said. Al-Qaida agents in Pakistan are hemmed in, mainly north of Peshawar, as well as North Waziristan, where they have based themselves with the Haqqani network and the Pakistani Taliban, and a small number in the Quetta area, where the exiled Afghan Taliban mainly hold sway.

These groups have cooperated for years, even pre-dating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, said New America Foundation's Peter Bergen, cautioning against describing that as a new development.

The Haqqani group fought beside the Afghan Taliban to help return the Taliban, al-Qaida's former host, to control of Afghanistan. The Pakistani Taliban have sought to overthrow the central government in Islamabad. Lashkar-e-Taiba, another group that works with al-Qaida, has concentrated on attacking Indian targets, like the three-day assault on Mumbai in 2008 that killed 170 people.

But the difference now, U.S. officials contend, is that the local groups are sharing manpower, weaponry and ideology with al-Qaida.

The Pakistani Taliban have already made an attempt on the U.S., through Times Square bombing suspect Faisal Shahzad. That attempt followed the pattern of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, based in Yemen, which dispatched Nigerian suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab to try to bring down a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day.

U.S. intelligence analysts, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, say even though neither the Haqqani network nor Lashkar e-Taiba has been linked to plots aimed at the mainland U.S., the United States now must assume the groups aspire to strike there, or at the very least help prepare and fund such attacks.

The Haqqanis, estimated by a senior defense official to be between 2,000 and 5,000 strong, have already supported attacks on U.S. targets within Afghanistan, including an al-Qaida and the Taliban suicide bombing that killed seven CIA operatives in Khost, in the suicide bombing last December.

Don Rassler, of the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, N.Y., says the group's leader, Sirajuddin Haqqani, has been careful not to publicly support direct attacks on the United States, despite repeated questioning in online militant Jihadi forums.

"He knows where the red lines are and he's careful not to cross them, so as not to become even more of a target than he already is," Rassler says.

Counterterrorism chief Leiter said monitoring the spread-out terrorist threat is a growing undertaking. The counterterrorism center receives 8,000-10,000 pieces of counterterrorist information every day, he said.

"Within those reports, there are roughly 10,000 names every day" and "40-plus specific threats and plots," Leiter said, including "bombs that are going to go off today or tomorrow." He likened it to trying to find "a needle in a pile of needles, covered by a haystack."-

Identifying those needles has resulted in huge blows against al-Qaida, he said. Increasingly, though, the United States and Pakistan must explain its attacks, which the enemy uses in propaganda to drive Muslim world public opinion against the United States and the government in Pakistan. The press in Pakistan has claimed that thousands of innocents have been killed by U.S. drone strikes. U.S. officials say it's nowhere near that total, but they will not provide their own estimates.

Leiter said he wouldn't argue "that some of our actions have not led to some people being radicalized." But he added, "It doesn't mean you don't do it. It means you craft a fuller strategy to explain why you're doing it."

Pakistan's ambassador to the United States, Husain Haqqani, said that al-Qaida, too, has turned off wide swaths of Arab and Muslim public opinion by killing 10,000 soldiers, diplomats and mostly civilians in 2009 in Pakistan alone. U.S. officials believe that's partly because their stepped-up drone campaign has forced al-Qaida to work through proxies that don't always listen to the al-Qaida leadership when it comes to avoiding civilian casualties.

The U.S. officials hold out the hope that the next year of the secret war could provide the critical moment that could lead to the decapitation of al-Qaida's leadership. But, they contend, if the pressure comes off, al-Qaida could transform itself into an even stronger, more resilient foe — a process they acknowledge has already begun.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/07/05/analysis-officials-cite-synergy-terrorists-expanding-desire-kill-americans/print

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