This is John Batchelor, conversation with my good friend Bill Rajov, the Foundation for

the Defense of Democracy, about isolated dots that we cannot connect and yet the arrests of a Tajikistan man in the United States by the

FBI in three major cities, New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles.

And reports in the Long War Journal of major figures in Al Qaeda resident in

Iran. At the same time, Al Qaeda advertising that its training camps are open for business for jihadists in

Afghanistan. And then the dot about the Tajik's attacking the Russian theater in the springtime,

Tajik shooters, and the question of the Tajik's

being identified with ISIS and how ISIS has here tofore done the behest of al-Qaeda. I note Al Qaeda was said

to be involved in the attack at the Karzai airport in the withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

All of this adds up to no particular connection and yet.

I ask Bill then in the course of our conversation, all these random events that may be

connected maybe leading to an attack trans-national may be in Europe maybe in the United

States I asked Bill Al Qaeda, it's been quiet for a while since

the death of a Zowahiri. Why? And Bill has a very careful answer reminding us about

proportion.

Is Bill Rajo, the Foundation for the Defense of Democracy,

much more on this later tonight.

Thank you.

Central, or its, you know, its central network is focused on building up that infrastructure inside of Iran, supporting the Taliban as well supporting groups like the movement of the Taliban in

Pakistan. So I believe Al Qaeda is more of a consolidation phase, but we have to

look at the history of Al Qaeda. You know, what happens here, John,

is a lot of analysts and of U.S. intelligence officials,

...