Flashback: Impotent Russian leaders blame Al Qaeda for forest fires.

European authorities warn of a fiery (and frightening) new plan of attacks by al-Qaeda. Alexander Bortnikov, the head of Russia’s Federal Security Service, believes the terrorist organization is responsible for a series of wildfires that have torched forests in European Union countries this year. Bortnikov said the fires are a coordinated effort by al-Qaeda, saying that there are numerous calls for a “forest jihad” on extremists websites that could be linked to the organization. He said setting forest fires was attractive to al-Qaeda because it would be difficult to catch arsonists. The fires would also be in keeping with al-Qaeda’s campaign of “inexpensive, low-scale” attacks.


[link to now.msn.com]