PETRAEUS-PAK 2 LAST

Petraeus said it is now increasingly becoming clear that
al-Qaeda is now a diminished organisation.

"It's become fairly commonplace, in recent weeks in
particular, to hear that al-Qaeda overall -- certainly in the
region, and arguably globally; despite picking up various
individuals, including some in the United States -- is a
considerably diminished organisation," he said.

Noting that it is a fact that the Taliban were the host
to al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, he said: "That is a key reason, a
key objective is to ensure that they are not able to return to
sanctuaries in Afghanistan of the type in which, they did the
original planning for the attacks of 9/11.

"Certainly, then that was furthered in Hamburg and US
flight schools, but the 9/11 Commission very clearly shows the
very strong linkages to Kandahar and several other areas and
some training camps in Afghanistan before that was all
launched." PTI