FBI Director: More, Stronger Al Qaeda Affiliates ‘Than I Appreciated’

Al Qaeda’s affiliates are both stronger and more prolific than previously anticipated, FBI director James Comey told the New York Times on Monday. While the Times noted that some expected Comey to be the first post-9/11 FBI director to redirect his focus away from terrorism, he clarified that Islamic radicalism is as potent a force as ever.

“I didn’t have anywhere near the appreciation I got after I came into this job just how virulent those affiliates had become,” Comey told the Times when asked if he thought the threat of al Qaeda-related terrorism had diminished.

Referring to the terror group’s affiliates in Africa and the Middle East, Comey said that the threat of terrorism against American interest sis as present as ever. “There are both many more than I appreciated, and they are stronger than I appreciated,” he confessed.

Comey told the Times that he is convinced terrorism must remain the Bureau’s primary focus.

[Image via Jason Reed/Reuters]

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