WASHINGTON (AP) — White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan says U.S officials hope to build on the killing of Osama bin Laden to destroy the al-Qaida terrorist organization.
Brennan tells NBC's "Today" show the
Obama administration is determined "to pummel the rest of al-Qaida."
He said the organization already has suffered "severe body blows."
He also said in Tuesday's interview that
"clearly there was some kind of support network" for bin Laden inside
Pakistan. Brennan declined to blame the Pakistani government for that, calling
Islamabad "a strong counterterrorism partner." But he also said the
Pakistani government is conducting its own investigation into how bin Laden
dodged authorities for so long. Brennan said it is "unknown at this
point" whether individuals inside the Pakistani government were helping
bin Laden.
Copyright
2011 The Associated Press.
