Unsettling signs of al Qaeda's aims and skills in cyberspace have led some government experts to conclude that terrorists are at the threshold of using the Internet as a direct instrument of bloodshed.

Al Qaeda is closely aligned with the Chechens.

There is evidence that some of al Qaeda's nuclear efforts over the years met with swindles and false leads.

Counterterrorism analysts have known for years that al Qaeda prepares for attacks with elaborate 'targeting packages' of photographs and notes.

Among all the upheavals of war with al Qaeda, the surest indicator of the historic stakes is the ongoing rotation of top U.S. government managers - scores at a time - into a bunker deep underground and far from Washington.

The gravest risks from al Qaeda combine its affinity for big targets and its announced desire for weapons of mass destruction.