Townsend: Al-Qaida still focused on murder

WASHINGTON, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- A White House official Tuesday said Osama bin Laden is still a major threat to the United States, even though he is not mentioned in the latest assessment.

Frances Townsend, assistant to the president for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, told a press briefing the Saudi dissident "remains the No. 1 target, in terms of our efforts, but he's only the target."

Earlier, the White House released its latest National Strategy for Combating Terrorism, saying U.S. strategy no longer focuses on al-Qaida, but rather is more concerned with Iran and small guerilla cells.

But though the strategy has shifted, al-Qaida and bin Laden remain a major threat.

"I think it would be fair to say to you that there should be no question in anybody's mind that they continue to this day to obsess about killing mass amounts of Americans and mass amounts of our allies around the world," Townsend said. "So their commitment to murder and their commitment to terrorist acts is not any diminished."