General: al-Qaida Making New Cells in US

U.S. Air Force Gen. Gene Renuart, gestures during a news conference at Central Command Center, Doha, Qatar in this April 10, 2003 file photo. Renuart, the military commander in charge of defending the U.S. homeland said Tuesday, July 24, 2007, that he believes there are al-Qaida cells in the U.S. or people working to create them. (AP Photo/Richard Lewis, File) (Richard Lewis - AP)

Renuart said he has been working to improve the interaction between his office and the other intelligence agencies to ensure that information on terror threats is shared. That way, he said, the military will better be able to anticipate how terrorists might try to take advantage of any gaps or weaknesses in the system.

At the same time, he said it will be at least two years before he is able to pull together the military units he needs to better respond to a chemical, biological or nuclear disaster in the U.S.

The units, he said, could include active duty, reserves or National Guard troops. And while portions of the brigades will be located in different states, they will be expected to train together and to be able to respond quickly to a disaster.

They would largely be made up of support forces, such as evacuation, medical, logistics and transportation troops. The Pentagon has been working since last year to identify units to be part of the brigade-size response teams.

Overall, Renuart said that as the terror threat has increased, the nation's ability to detect problems has also improved.

The intelligence report, he said, is a "summary of drumbeats, and the drumbeats are getting more prevalent out there. You cannot afford to ignore that." But, he said, a few years ago the nation was not as able to hear and interpret those drumbeats.

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