The Democrats are not fans of this report, calling it "unsophisticated." Al Qaeda leaders wait patiently for the right opportunity to attack. Al-Qaeda has metastasized its scale of influence by reaching out to like-minded Islamist extremist groups and inspiring new groups and individuals to emerge and carry out independent attacks. We are not looking at Muslims who practice their faith fundamentally -- there is nothing wrong with practicing religion in a fundamental way.
"Not that there's anything wrong with that." Intelligence experts agree that the funding to al-Qaeda amounts to much less than is raised by other terrorist groups, such as Hamas and Hezbollah.
I would be more concerned if bin Laden was able to attract hundreds of thousands of people to a widely publicized, televised rally in the hinterlands of the Northwest Frontier. The report includes a short (one paragraph) sidebar on al-Suri, who was discussed at length in some of the recent articles I've recommended. There's a figure entitled "The Terrorist Network in America" which shows an extensive presence by a wide variety of organizations. The text is vague as to what this means, but it suggests the activities are mostly fund-raising. The minority view, led by Jane Harman, is interesting: This paper is ... merely an assemblage of press clippings. ... This "threat assessment" adds no new information to the nation's understanding of the challenges ... The Committee should evaluate ... the value of the President's Domestic Surveillance Program. ... Has the program produced any results?
al-Qaeda: The Many Faces of an Extremist Threat | HPSCI [PDF] | 
