Terror is not down in the world but is in fact up, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.) said on State of the Union Sunday, and according to the intelligence, "al Qaeda has metastasized."
Discussing allegations against the NSA by left-wing journalist Glenn Greenwald, Feinstein said she was not familiar with some of the specific charges he was leveling but defended the value of the organization given the rise of terrorism in the world.
"We just went through the opening of the 9/11 museum," she said. "I know they will come after us if they can. I see the intelligence. Terror is not down in the world. It is up. Both deaths, injuries, in many, many different places. Al Qaeda has metastasized. The question becomes how do we prevent an attack in this country."
The Obama administration has made repeated claims about having "al Qaeda on the run" during its tenure, but Feinstein's remarks directly refute that idea.
Full exchange:
CANDY CROWLEY: You know Glenn Greenwald, he was one of the folks who had Edward Snowden as a source and leaked a lot of information about the NSA. In his new book he talks about the NSA leaving almost no stone unturned to just collect massive amounts of information, and one of the things he talked about was a plan that intercepts computer equipment and retrofitting it with spyware at ports that are headed out of the U.S. to other countries.
DIANNE FEINSTEIN: Well, I haven't read his book. I just saw it for the first time in the green room, as a matter of fact, so I'm not going to comment. I am going to say this--
CROWLEY: Does that sound familiar at all, though, like taking computers off of--
FEINSTEIN: No, it does not. I can look into it. It does not sound familiar, but I can tell you this. We just went through the opening of the 9/11 museum. I know they will come after us if they can. I see the intelligence. Terror is not down in the world. It is up. Both deaths, injuries, in many, many different places. Al Qaeda has metastasized. The question becomes how do we prevent an attack in this country.