"[Our armed forces] are fortifying their defensive positions and directing concentrated attacks on terrorist gatherings and their supply lines in Jisr al-Shughur," SANA said.
The contractor, a U.K. citizen of Moroccan descent, said he was subjected to frequent harassment, including being asked if he was a terrorist, while gathering information about Wi-Fi signals inside stores, and the situation was exacerbated because he was instructed not to disclose that he was conducting research for Google.
"The remnants of Saddam's regime are still dangerous, and terrorists are gathering in Iraq to undermine the advance of freedom," Mr. Bush said.
In its best manifestations, it means far more than the anti-terrorist intelligence-gathering capability on which the loudest recent warnings have focused.
Barack Obama, Vladimir Putin, and European leaders adopted the strategy of gathering terrorists in one place to pin them down in battles far from their cities, a purpose for which they found Syria to be ideal.
His evidence also revealed some of the limitations of intelligence gathering on terrorist suspects.
The three find themselves in the Lord Mayor's private parlor of the Guildhall, unaware that their presence is perceived as a terrorist occupation by the gathering forces outside.
With the media focusing on the US response to the terrorist attacks, the Bournemouth gathering is not likely to receive much publicity.
Mr. Paige made his "terrorist" remark at a gathering of governors at the White House, just before the president stepped up his re-election campaign.
The government is scrambling to defend its record, even as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh acknowledges "vast gaps" in intelligence gathering on terrorist networks operating in this large, fractious country.
