Major Setback

Drudge has the teaser above the mast right now, but expect a full link to Gertz in The Washington Times, later this evening:

Al Qaeda is planning a mass-casualty attack to rival September 11, but preparations have been disrupted by arrests during the past several months, according to U.S. intelligence officials, the WASHINGTON TIMES is reporting in Tuesday editions. MORE///

Intelligence reports also stated any major attack is likely to be preceded by smaller-scale strikes — including assassinations of prominent people in the U.S….

Who says we can’t fight al Qaeda and Iraq and the Taliban concurrently?

UPDATE: Here’s the link to the story, and some of the meat for you to chew on:

Recent intelligence reports indicate that communications among clandestine cells of al Qaeda members are being restored gradually, the intelligence officials said.
“The attack will be large-scale,” one official said.

Additionally, the intelligence reports stated that any major attack is likely to be preceded by smaller-scale strikes, including assassinations of prominent people in the United States, the official said.

Officials did not provide details on the latest threat, which was contained in intelligence reports sent to senior Bush administration officials last week. The warning did not say whether the attacks would be in the United States or abroad.

The VodkaPundit betting line? If any attack occurs, it won’t be in the continental United States. Any assassination attempt will be prevented, bungled, or otherwise stopped. Furthermore, the twin failures will hurt al Qaeda’s fundraising and recruitment efforts.