For U.S. Analysts, Rethinking The Terror Threat

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http://www.wbur.org/npr/149408570/for-u-s-analysts-rethinking-the-terror-threat

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U.S. officials are looking more closely for signs of state-sponsored terrorism these days. In this attack, Israel blamed Iran for bombing a car belonging to the Israeli Embassy in New Delhi, India, on Feb. 13, 2012. The wife of an Israeli diplomat was injured. Iran denied it was involved. (Joji Thomas / AP)

There has been a subtle shift taking place in the intelligence community in recent months.

Intelligence and law enforcement officials say analysts and experts who have been tracking al-Qaida for more than a decade have been quietly reassigned. Some are being moved completely out of al-Qaida units. Others are being asked to spend less time watching al-Qaida and more time tracking more traditional foes — like state-sponsored terrorists.

U.S. officials declined to provide specific numbers or detail which intelligence units have changed priorities, but they did say that a goodly portion of the analysts who have been reassigned from their al-Qaida duties are being asked to focus on one country: Iran.

Officials said that with the relative threat from al-Qaida declining, it made sense to reallocate resources and with the increase in terrorism related activity linked to Iran, it also made sense to focus on it.